<p>Chennai: After successfully delivering 88 of the 97 Chair Car variants of the premium Vande Bharat trains, the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) here is now focusing on designing the 24-coach Sleeper variant of the semi-high-speed train, which can run at a maximum speed of 180 km per hour and is to be deployed on long-distance routes.</p> <p>The Vande Bharat Chair Car variants have been highly successful, as they provide a comfortable ride for passengers who prefer day travel on medium and long-distance routes. While 88 train sets have already been rolled out from the ICF, about four train sets are ready, and the remaining are expected to be completed and handed over to the Railway Board by the end of the 2025-2026 fiscal year.</p> <p>The rail production unit is also planning to roll out the prototype of the freight variant of the Vande Bharat train by the end of the current fiscal year, with the hope that such trains will be used by e-commerce sites to transport goods from one city to another.</p>.Passenger capacity on Yeshwantpur-Kacheguda Vande Bharat doubled.<p>“We plan to roll out the prototype of the first 24-coach Vande Bharat Sleeper train by the end of 2026. We will be manufacturing 50 such trains in total,” U Subba Rao, General Manager, ICF, told DH in an interview. These trains will be slightly different from the 16-coach Vande Bharat Sleeper trains being manufactured by BEML India.</p> <p>Regarding the 24-coach VB trains, Rao said the ICF is currently preparing the train’s design, while orders have been placed for the propulsion system and other equipment. “</p> <p>We will gradually place orders for equipment needed for the train. These trains are being manufactured to run on long-distance routes like Chennai-New Delhi (Tamil Nadu Express),” Rao added.</p> <p>Rao said the ICF plans to have four toilets in each coach, an exclusive pantry car, and more space for linen and bedrolls in the new trains, as opposed to two toilets in each coach in the existing Vande Bharat Chair Car and the 16-coach Sleeper prototype.</p><p>The ICF GM said that as far as the Vande Bharat CC variant is concerned, the ICF hasn’t received any fresh orders. “We received orders for 97 trains, and RCF, Kapurthala, for 10 trains. We have delivered 88, and the entire order will be completed soon,” he said.</p> <p>Launched as Train 18 and rechristened as Vande Bharat, the CC trains, which are designed to run at a maximum speed of 180 km per hour, have been indigenously manufactured at the ICF since 2018.</p> <p>“The best part of Vande Bharat is that the focus is back on Indian Railways. Almost every person in India wants a Vande Bharat for his city and to travel on it. Even now, people take selfies in front of the train and post them on their social media pages, even six years after the variant made its debut,” he added.</p> <p>Regarding the freight variant, Rao said the Railways expect e-commerce firms to use the train since it will run at a speed of 160 km per hour. </p> <p>“We have orders for only two trains, and we will manufacture the prototype by the end of this year and the next train by early next year. Since this is a new concept, we will have to wait and see the response before producing more,” Rao added.</p>
<p>Chennai: After successfully delivering 88 of the 97 Chair Car variants of the premium Vande Bharat trains, the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) here is now focusing on designing the 24-coach Sleeper variant of the semi-high-speed train, which can run at a maximum speed of 180 km per hour and is to be deployed on long-distance routes.</p> <p>The Vande Bharat Chair Car variants have been highly successful, as they provide a comfortable ride for passengers who prefer day travel on medium and long-distance routes. While 88 train sets have already been rolled out from the ICF, about four train sets are ready, and the remaining are expected to be completed and handed over to the Railway Board by the end of the 2025-2026 fiscal year.</p> <p>The rail production unit is also planning to roll out the prototype of the freight variant of the Vande Bharat train by the end of the current fiscal year, with the hope that such trains will be used by e-commerce sites to transport goods from one city to another.</p>.Passenger capacity on Yeshwantpur-Kacheguda Vande Bharat doubled.<p>“We plan to roll out the prototype of the first 24-coach Vande Bharat Sleeper train by the end of 2026. We will be manufacturing 50 such trains in total,” U Subba Rao, General Manager, ICF, told DH in an interview. These trains will be slightly different from the 16-coach Vande Bharat Sleeper trains being manufactured by BEML India.</p> <p>Regarding the 24-coach VB trains, Rao said the ICF is currently preparing the train’s design, while orders have been placed for the propulsion system and other equipment. “</p> <p>We will gradually place orders for equipment needed for the train. These trains are being manufactured to run on long-distance routes like Chennai-New Delhi (Tamil Nadu Express),” Rao added.</p> <p>Rao said the ICF plans to have four toilets in each coach, an exclusive pantry car, and more space for linen and bedrolls in the new trains, as opposed to two toilets in each coach in the existing Vande Bharat Chair Car and the 16-coach Sleeper prototype.</p><p>The ICF GM said that as far as the Vande Bharat CC variant is concerned, the ICF hasn’t received any fresh orders. “We received orders for 97 trains, and RCF, Kapurthala, for 10 trains. We have delivered 88, and the entire order will be completed soon,” he said.</p> <p>Launched as Train 18 and rechristened as Vande Bharat, the CC trains, which are designed to run at a maximum speed of 180 km per hour, have been indigenously manufactured at the ICF since 2018.</p> <p>“The best part of Vande Bharat is that the focus is back on Indian Railways. Almost every person in India wants a Vande Bharat for his city and to travel on it. Even now, people take selfies in front of the train and post them on their social media pages, even six years after the variant made its debut,” he added.</p> <p>Regarding the freight variant, Rao said the Railways expect e-commerce firms to use the train since it will run at a speed of 160 km per hour. </p> <p>“We have orders for only two trains, and we will manufacture the prototype by the end of this year and the next train by early next year. Since this is a new concept, we will have to wait and see the response before producing more,” Rao added.</p>