NEW DELHI: The government of India announced in the budget that 400 semi high-speed Vande Bharat trains with new-generation technology and facilities will be functional in the next three years.
However, it seems Indian Railways will not be able to manufacture such a huge number of Vande Bharat trains in the period mentioned.
Indian Railways does not have enough manufacturing capacity and many railway officials are struggling to explain how 400 such trains can be made. Speaking to this daily, many railway production experts, preferring anonymity, revealed that the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai does not have enough production capacity at present to meet the target of rolling out 400 Vande Bharat Trains in 36 months.
“Even if the government makes an all out effort to enhance production capacity on a war-footing, then also it will not be possible for Indian Railways to produce more than 100-120 Vande Bharat trains in a year,” said a senior official.
A senior technical expert of Indian Railways who is engaged in the coach manufacturing unit, said: “Considering the present manufacturing capacity, Indian Railways will need at least five years to manufacture 400 new-generation Vande Bharat trains. It seems almost impossible to meet the target in next three years.”
Sudhanshu Mani is the creator of Train-18, which is now called Vande Bharat.
Also the former general manager of the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory, he said it would take at least 5-6 years for Indian railways to manufacture 400 Vande Bharat trains.
He said that 80% of spare and other equipment are imported and the remaining parts and spares are manufactured in the country for the Vande Bharat trains.