Mumbai: WR, CR to completely manufacture AC local trains in India

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IndSamachar Bureau: Soon, the Mumbai air-conditioned (AC) local trains will be completely made in India. The Railways under the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative will completely manufacture AC local trains within the country.

According to Hindustan Times, the seven Medha AC local trains and 12 Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) AC local trains for Western Railway (WR) and Central Railway (CR) will be manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai and fitted with India-made electrical and software systems. The trains which will be manufactured in India will also have LED lights installed to reduce energy consumption.

A senior WR official told the leading daily, “ICF is working on 12 AC as well as partial AC local trains. The new trains will not be retrofitted and will have systems and parts under the Make In India initiative. This is also likely to decrease the cost of the AC trains.”

The AC local trains, which will be manufactured in India, will also be cheaper than ones whose systems were imported from other countries. The AC local train, which is currently operating on the Western line, has electrical and software systems made in Germany. The AC locals currently have imported parts fitted in, and are facing glitches in their software, and also issues while closing its doors. The train commuters have also complained of water leakage and AC not functioning properly. The ICF has aimed at rolling out tenders for 12 AC local trains by March 2019.