New Delhi: The Indian Railways is all geared up for launch of its next generation Vande Bharat sleeper coaches and Vande Bharat Metro trains, early next year.
The sleeper coaches & Vande Metro trains will herald the introduction of indigenously built train coaches in
India’s complex railway network.
The Vande Bharat sleeper trains & Vande Metro will give passengers a comfortable & quick rail experience of long overnight journeys as well as short trip respectively.
According to reports, the 12-coaches Vande Bharat trains is likely to be rolled out by January 2024 while the sleeper variants, meant for long distance travel are likely by March 2024.
Both types of Vande Bharat trains are being developed by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) of Indian Railways, based in Chennai.
BG Mallya, the ICF General Manager recently revealed the details about upcoming launch to news agency ANI.
“We will be launching the sleeper version of Vande Bharat within this financial year,” he said.
#WATCH | Indian Railways to launch sleeper version of Vande Bharat Express
B G Mallya, General Manager of Integral Coach Factory says, “We’ll be launching the sleeper version of the Vande within this financial year. We’ll also be launching the Vande Metro in this financial year.… pic.twitter.com/49q61cScIb
— ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2023
The Vande Bharat sleeper trains, expected to ply on tracks with about 200-220 km per hour, have been designed for long-distance travels. Once launched, these state-of-the art trains with swanky interiors will facilitate easy & comfortable journey to passengers. It will allow passengers to take long night journeys at high speed.
The Vande Bharat sleeper trains are expected to serve as alternative to Rajdhani trains while the existing chair car trains are likely to replace Shatabdi trains, over a period of time.
Currently, a total of Vande Bharat Express trains are operational on 25 routes covering short-route distance. They are eventually expected to replace the Shatabdi trains that connect cities & capitals and don’t require overnight journeys.
A total of 400 Vande Bharat trains are likely to be manufactured over next few years. Railways had issued a tender for the same. The shorter route Vande Bharat trains with chair cars have extensively used steel in interiors while the longer route Vande Bharat will be made of aluminium.
