Design of Nose Cone for Mumbai Local Train

Mumbai Suburban Railway, also referred to as Mumbai Local, is one of the busiest mass transit systems in the world with highest passenger density. Annually 2.6 billion trips are made by these local trains. The trains that run on these lines are very old and obsolete as 30 years old trains are still in use.

There is a lot of bio-mechanical and psychological load on the Motorman, Guard and Maintenance Staff. They are the ones that make the system run for 20 hours every day throughout the year.

Through this study, various issues pertaining to basic ergonomics of ingress and egress, operational mechanics of the drivers’ door, visibility conditions in Indian context, glare, ventilation, odour, etc. were addressed through design.

Trains form an identity to a particular place, as seen in the case of London Tube, Delhi Metro, Bullet trains from China, etc. Mumbai, being the cultural and economic capital of the country, is globally known for its local trains though there is no face that is associated with it. I took it as an opportunity to give identity to the Mumbai city by giving a new face to its backbone-  “Lifeline of the city”.