The Mumbai local trains, the city's lifeline, will soon be replaced by 238 Vande Bharat Metro rakes after getting approval from the Railway Board, as per Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC). Vande Bharat Metro is the mini version of India's first indigenous semi-high-speed train ‘Vande Bharat Express’.

MRVC said that these rakes will be procured under the ambitious Mumbai Urban Transport Project-III (MUTP-III) and 3A (MUTP-3A), which are helmed by the Railway ministry and Maharashtra government to augment the capacity of the metropolis' suburban train network.

These trains will be manufactured by the technology partner ensuring ‘Make in India’ guidelines of the Centre's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

The procurement will be undertaken by MRVC and it will be with maintenance requirements spanning 35 years. Two depots for maintenance of rakes already approved under MUTP-III and 3A will be set up by the technology partner.

MUTP-III and MUTP-3A projects are worth Rs.109 billion and Rs.336 billion respectively. The Vande Bharat Metro rake, with eight coaches, will be deployed for short distances to cover cities around 100 km apart with trains at a high frequency, such as four to five times per day, similar to a metro train.

Normal Vande Bharat trains have a 16-car composition. The trains will provide a rapid shuttle-like experience to passengers, allowing job seekers and students to get world-class transportation from one city to another while saving time.