Mumbai, 27 November, 2011

National Institute of Design(NID) Ahmedabad has been awarded consultancy for revised painting of the exterior, the colour scheme and other technical inputs for the 72 new 12-car stainless steel pure 25000-volt Alternating Current trains arriving in December 2013 under Mumbai Urban Transport Project-2A (MUTP). As of now, 34 trains(each costing 32 crore) are for Western railway while others are to be allotted to Central railway.

Currently 129 Corton steel trains on the Western line are having a violet-white colour pattern but the new trains will be made of stainless steel, so NID will gauge what colour would suit them. Presently, the outer structure of the train uses a number of nuts and bolts in a way that causes it to bulge at the centre, which impacts its running speed. However, the new stainless steel trains will be flat and welded as one unit. New trains will also have the capacity of adding up to 18 cars.

Apart from color scheme the NID Ahmedabad team will also study the best seating arrangement, and whether it should remain vertical, or fitted on the sides of the compartment, the way it is in a Metro compartment. It will also make recommendations for the best seat colour, which, according to the draft report, has been suggested as red for first class and blue for second-class compartments. While preparing the final report, the views of the general public will be taken into account. Apart from this the quality of flooring, handles, seating arrangements and luggage racks will be upgraded.