The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) is set to introduce brand new Vande Metro (Namo Bharat Rapid Rail) AC trainsets. These trains are designed to replace older local trains, ensuring passenger comfort and safety. 

The trains are specially designed to combat the monsoon season of the city, between June and September, which brings over 2,500 mm of rain each year, with extreme days recording more than 300 mm in 24 hours, often causing waterlogging on tracks, especially on the Central Line.

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To cope with these conditions, the Vande Metro trains feature monsoon-ready designs, including waterproofed electrical and traction systems, anti-corrosive coach coatings, and HVAC systems built to function in over 90 per cent humidity. Fully sealed gangways and automatic sliding doors further prevent rainwater from entering passenger areas, a major improvement over the existing local trains.

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Mumbai’s Vande Metro

  • The trains will be available in variants of 12,15 and 18 coaches to handle the peak hour passenger surge of Mumbai.

  • A 12-coach unit can handle around 3,200 passengers.

  • The coaches will be completely air-conditioned and have continuous vestibules for smoother movement between coaches.

  • There will be sensor-based automatic sliding doors, which will ensure the safety of all the passengers.

  • The coaches will include USB charging points, CCTV surveillance, infotainment screens, and real-time route maps.

  • The ticket price for the suburban railways is expected to hover between Rs 10 and Rs 90, while the intercity prices are expected to lie between Rs 300 and Rs 500. However, these are not the official prices, which are expected to be released by the MRVC later on. 

  • Routes: These trains will run across both the Central and Western Railway routes. A dedicated metro service is also planned for the Mumbai-Pune route.

  • The bid for the procurement of 238 Vande Metro trainsets has been deferred to April 16, 2026.

  • Once the contract has been awarded, the prototype is expected to hit the rail lines within two years, while the first trains are likely to run in Mumbai by 2028. 


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