ICF to produce 44 Vande Bharat Express trains

Indian Railways has asked Chennai based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) produce 44 new sets of Train 18, which has been christened as Vande Bharat Express.

The ICF on Sunday published a tender for supply of electrical equipment and other items for 44 Train sets of 16 coaches each. The procurement process promotes transparency, accountability and speed of delivery, said railways in a statement.

The first two set of trains Vande Bharat Express produced by ICF is running successfully between Delhi-Varanasi and Delhi-Katra. Soon after first two-set was produced, the Railways halted the production following complaints of the consuming high power and more weight.

The new set of trains will be produced as per the specification finalised by Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), an arm of the railways. The new design train will have lesser weight and will consume less power compared to two trains produced by the ICF earlier.

“The revised specification takes care of the improvements pointed out by Chief Commissioner for Railway Safety in the prototype rake and will provide more reliable service along with ease of operations and improved passenger comfort,” said the statement.

The new train sets will provide an actual saving of 20% in journey time and all equipment are suitable for flooding conditions.