Mumbai: The new fleet of Vande Metro local trains will be designed specifically to operate in Mumbai’s flood-prone and humid coastal conditions, with the aim of improving reliability alongside passenger comfort on the heavily used suburban network.Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation had issued a tender for 2,856 AC Vande Metro suburban cars under MUTP-3 and 3A in Sept 2025. Bids were to be opened on Dec 22, 2025, but it’s been pushed to April. The technical specifications underline a clear focus on addressing long-standing local challenges, such as monsoon waterlogging, high humidity, saline coastal air and high energy consumption. The trains will be fitted with flood-resilient underframe equipment with waterproofing, intended to reduce damage to critical systems during waterlogging, thereby cutting out potential delays and cancellations. Coaches and key components will have corrosion-resistant anti-saline coatings. This is expected to slow down wear and tear, improve asset life and reduce maintenance-related failures. The trains will use silicon carbide traction technology, which is more energy efficient than conventional traction systems. This will be supported by regenerative braking, enabling energy produced during braking to be fed back into the overhead system, helping cut overall electricity consumption on high-density suburban corridors. From a commuter perspective, the specifications include ergonomic cushioned seating to improve comfort during long daily journeys, walk-through coaches with wider gangways for better crowd movement, and space optimised layouts to increase usable standing and seating areas. Advanced air-conditioning systems with high-efficiency filtration and automatic fresh air regulation based on passenger load are also part of the plan. Safety features include automatic sliding doors with obstacle detection, onboard CCTV cameras, passenger emergency alarms, emergency talkback systems, and smoke and fire detection system across the rake. A noise-insulated silent saloon design is aimed at improving in-train comfort. The first prototype rakes are expected within 2.5 years of contract award, followed by phased induction over years.
