Mumbai suburban railway commuters can look forward to a massive upgrade in their daily travel experience as the Ministry of Railways has approved the procurement of 238 new air-conditioned Electric Multiple Unit rakes. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed this major development aimed at transforming local train travel across the city. The initiative will significantly boost passenger carrying capacity, improve onboard comfort, and strengthen overall connectivity across the suburban corridors. This rollout is strategically planned to match the rapid infrastructure expansion happening under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project so that rolling stock availability always meets commuter demand.
- 238 new AC EMU rakes sanctioned for the Mumbai suburban network.
- Manufacturing distributed among Integral Coach Factory Chennai, Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala, and Modern Coach Factory Raebareli.
- Deliveries will begin in 2027 and the entire project will finish by 2030.
Accelerated Manufacturing Across India
To ensure the trains are delivered without delay, the Railway Board has fast-tracked the procurement process using tried and tested technical specifications approved by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation and the Integral Coach Factory. The manufacturing workload has been shared among three major production units of Indian Railways to speed up output. The Integral Coach Factory in Chennai will build the highest share with 120 rakes. Meanwhile, the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala has been assigned to manufacture 71 rakes, and the Modern Coach Factory in Raebareli will produce the remaining 47 rakes. This decentralized production model ensures that manufacturing capacity is fully utilized to meet strict project deadlines.
Rollout Timeline and Completion Schedule
Daily commuters will see the first batch of these modern air-conditioned rakes arriving on the tracks soon. According to the official deployment roadmap, the delivery of the new trains is officially scheduled to commence in 2027. Authorities plan to complete the entire induction of all 238 rakes by 2030. This carefully timed schedule is designed to bridge the gap between upcoming rail infrastructure upgrades and the actual introduction of new trains, ensuring that the newly expanded rail networks achieve optimal utilization right from day one.