The Railway Board on Friday authorised the purchase of 238 Vande Bharat Metro trains to modernise the suburban railway network, meaning that the Mumbai local trains, the metro city's lifeline, will soon be a thing of the past. Senior Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) officials were cited by PTI in their article.

The technology partner will set up two depots for maintenance of the rakes that have already received MUTP-III and 3A approval, the source continued. The estimated costs of the MUTP-III and MUTP-3A projects are Rs 10,947 and Rs 33,690 crores, respectively. According to the railways, the Vande Bharat Metro would be a cutting-edge rake that will be used for short trips to connect cities that are around 100 km apart.

"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," said an MRVC spokesperson.

The two suburban railway corridors operated by the Western Railways (WR) and Central Railways (CR) are 319 km long and provide service for 3,129 services, including AC locals, according to an article in the Indian Express.

In the Union Budget for 2023–24, a miniature version of India's first domestic semi-high-speed train, the Vande Bharat Express, was announced.