New Delhi: Along with Vande Bharat Sadharan Train and Vande Bharat Metro Train, the Indian Railways is planning to roll out the first version of Vande Bharat sleeper trains this financial year.
Speaking to the media, BG Mallya, the General Manager of Integral Coach Factory (ICF), said that the first sleeper train is under production and will be rolled out in March 2024. “It will have a total of 16 coaches, of which 11 will be AC 3 tier, 4 AC 2 tier and 1 coach will be 1st AC,” he said.
The Vande Bharat sleeper trains will allow passengers to travel long distances on high-speed trains overnight.
He further said that Vande Metro, which will be a 12-coach train for short-distance travel, is expected to be launched in January-February 2024.
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Mallay also informed about a simple version of Vande Bharat for non-air conditioned passengers. “This train, which is called a non-AC push-pull train, will have 22 coaches and a locomotive. And that launch is going to happen before October 31…,” he said, adding no other colour scheme has been conceived so far.
Over 25 Vande Bharat Express trains are currently operating throughout the nation, covering 50 routes, 25 up and 25 down. The first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off on February 15, 2019, by the Prime Minister, running between New Delhi and Varanasi. Manufactured at ICF in Chennai, the indigenous semi-high-speed train sets symbolise the ‘Make-In-India’ initiative and showcases India’s engineering prowess.
