Vande Bharat Trains To Be Manufactured At Rae Bareli Modern Rail Coach Factory In Uttar Pradesh Beginning Next Year

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the Modern Rail Coach Factory in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli on Saturday and said manufacturing of Vande Bharat coaches would start here from next year.

Vaishnaw toured the factory premises and was apprised about the manufacturing technology of different types of coaches by general manager S S Kalsi.

After inaugurating the AC economy coaches, the minister praised the technique, design and quality of coaches being made at the factory.

Manufacturing of Vande Bharat coaches will start on a large scale from April. The factory will play an important role in realising the dreams of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the development of the Railways, he said.

In future, Vaishnaw added, the factory would also export coaches to European countries.

The minister inspected the construction and structure of Vande Bharat train sets and motorcoach being built here so that regular production can be started.

The central government has already given Rs 150 crore to the factory for the production of Vande Bharat coaches, an official said.

The coaches of the Vande Bharat trains are currently manufactured at Integrated Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai

ICF in Chennai aims to produce 27 Vande Bharat Express trains in the current financial year. It plans to roll out 25 more such trains by March 2023.

The government aims to have 475 new Vande Bharat trains by 2024-25, aiming to use their indigenous manufacturing to highlight its Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign.

Two trains of the updated version of Vande Bharat Express have already been launched on Gandhinagar-Mumbai and Ambala Andaura-New Delhi routes this year. The third train, between Chennai and Bengaluru, commenced the first trial run today.

All Vande Bharat express train coaches have automatic doors, GPS-based audio-visual passenger information system, onboard hotspot Wi-Fi for entertainment purposes, and very comfortable seating. The executive class also has rotating chairs.

The modern rake also features bio-vacuum type toilets with the lighting being dual mode, viz. diffused for general illumination and personal for every seat. Every coach has a pantry with facilities to serve hot meals and hot and cold beverages.

The express train comprises of 16 air-conditioned coaches of which two are executive class and the total seating capacity is 1,128 passengers.

(With PTI inputs)