NEW DELHI: The Indian Railways is preparing to launch 200 Vande Bharat sleeper trains following the success of its chair car trains, which have reportedly received positive feedbacks in the regions they are running through. A senior railway official said that the first rake of the Vande Bharat sleeper trains has been rolled out for simulation testing. “The production of 10 sleeper trains is currently underway as part of the broader plan to introduce 200 such trains,” the official said.
The first prototype of the Vande Bharat sleeper rake, manufactured by BEML, was rolled out from the Integral Coach Factory after its quality standards were checked in Chennai for field and simulation trials. “At present, the loaded simulation trials of the Vande Bharat sleeper train are being conducted to assess its performance at speeds of 130 kmph and 180 kmph under varying conditions,” official added.
The Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO), Lucknow is reportedly supervising the loaded simulation trials. “The simulation trials are being conducted on this first prototype Vande Bharat train to evaluate its performance and overall stability with loads. This has been designed to run at speeds of up to 180 kmph initially, with a composition of 16 coaches of Class I to III,” another senior official told this newspaper.
Since Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is monitoring the project in line with PMNarendra Modi’s vision, the project is expected to come on tracks in next few years for commercial purposes.
According to Vaishnaw, 10 Vande Bharat sleeper trains are under production to cater to long- and medium-distance journeys. He said the manufacture of 200 Vande Bharat sleeper rakes has been assigned to technology partners, with the timeline for the rollout dependent on the successful completion of trials.
At present, 136 Vande Bharat trains, consisting of chair cars, are operational on broad gauge electrified networks. Responding to a question, Vaishnaw recently told the Lok Sabha that all Vande Bharat trains operate with an overall occupancy of more than 100%.
In addition to the Vande Bharat services, the railways has increased production of Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches. “Over 36,933 LHB coaches have been manufactured between 2014 and 2024, compared to 2,337 coaches produced during 2004-14,” the minister told Parliament recently.