Each compartment of the latest AC local (model image above) has been fitted with 30-tonne air-conditioner. (Top) Mumbai’s first AC local was introduced last Christmas

The entirely vestibuled train can carry 350 commuters more than the current AC local, and borrows the design of engineless Train 18 that completed a trial up to a speed of 180kmph.Anyone who’s travelled on the Mumbai AC local will say that the city needs a few more of these. Mumbai Mirror can reveal exclusive details of the second AC local that is scheduled to reach the city in the first week of January and will run between Virar and Churchgate.The main highlight of the second AC local is the increased carrying capacity, although it will also be a 12-coach train. While the AC local already in service can accommodate 5,964 commuters, the new train will be able to carry an additional 350 passengers (50 seated and 300 standing). This is because the new train is entirely vestibule, hence 100% seamless compared to the first AC local that allows commuters to seamlessly access only six coaches.Mumbai got its first AC local on December 25 last year, which makes 12 trips a day between Virar and Churchgate. The train isn’t operational on weekends for maintenance. It carries an average 1,500 commuters per trip, and the railway sources said the AC local services can be extended to weekends with two trains in the fleet.While there are plans to add nine AC trains to the Mumbai suburban network . The Central line is likely to get one in June.Shubhranshu, the principal chief engineer at Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) which manufactures rail coaches, said the latest AC local’s design and features are similar to Train 18, which is India’s first indigenously build engineless train that recently completed a trial up to a speed of 180 kmph.“The train will be fitted with under-slung equipment, which means electrical equipment will be below the rake. The compartment design and propulsion technology have been borrowed from Train 18. Commuters will also experience a far smoother ride compared to other trains because the under-slung equipment lowers the centre of gravity of the coaches, thereby improving stability at high speeds and on curves,” Shubhranshu said.Sudanshu Mani, general manager of the ICF, said Mumbaikars can expect better seats, wider luggage racks and a faster train. “The train will have no equipment on-board except in the driver’s cabin,” Mani said.