In 2015, Integral Coach Factory (ICF) rolled out wholly AC-powered EMU rakes which scores higher than conventional coaches on energy efficiency and eco-friendly counts. These 12-car rakes, developed for the Phase-II of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) comes with with better passenger comfort and safety features such as roof-mounted ventilation and slide-doors. A unique feature of these 3-phase AC EMU powered by the Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) technology developed in partnership with multinational firm Bombardier was that it converts the kinetic energy generated during the braking of the train into electrical energy that was then directed back to the energy grid of the train.
These newly manufactured Bombardier rakes comes with LED light fittings, CCTV cameras in all ladies compartments, stainless steel seats instead of polycarbonate seats, fans with stainless steel nets, GPS-based destination display on LED indicators, AC motorman cab and improved interior than the earlier rakes. As much as seven CCTV cameras installed in each ladies compartments, in line with Railways efforts to ensure safety of female commuters.
With a seating capacity of 1,028 passengers or standing room for 6,000 under super dense crush load conditions in the reconfigured coach interior, the 12-coach Bombardier rakes have two sections of six coaches each with interconnecting vestibules which is standard fitment on commuter trains the world over. Moreover, to bring it in line with worldwide norms, the old system of pulling a chain to halt the train has been replaced by four intercoms on each coach that would enable commuters to communicate with the driver. In short these rakes ushered in a new era of commuter travel in MRVC & gradually became a standard for not only Mumbai, but all EMU services at major metros all over India.
This Churchgate bound Bombardier EMU rake from Virar was passing by the Goragaon outer. Photographed by Somsubhra Das. D.O.P. - 17th February 2017.
Rake id = 5061-5063-5064-5062