Indian Railways to introduce 2 new versions of Vande Bharat Express

Update on Vande Bharat Express: The Indian Railways is actively working towards introducing two additional versions of the Vande Bharat Express by the end of the fiscal year 2023-24. The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai is dedicatedly involved in the production of the Vande Bharat Sleeper version and the Vande Metro coaches. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who visited the ICF, expressed his satisfaction with the progress, stating, "The production process of the Vande Bharat Sleeper Version and the Vande Metro Coaches is progressing smoothly."

In addition to the ICF, the railways will manufacture these semi-high-speed trains at two other factories: the Modern Coach Factory in Rae Bareli and the Marathwada Rail Coach Factory in Latur. The national transporter aims to launch 75 services of these modern trains by August 15, 2023.

Currently, there are three versions of the Vande Bharat Express: (a) Vande Bharat Chair Car, (b) Vande Bharat Sleeper Car, and (c) Vande Metro. These versions will significantly enhance the passenger experience.

The Vande Sleeper version will be designed for journeys over 550 kilometers. It will replace existing superfast trains such as Rajdhanis and Durontos. The sleeper car format is expected to be ready by February 2024.

The Vande Metro format will serve distances of less than 100 kilometers. Over the coming years, this new format will replace existing suburban and non-suburban trains, including local trains.

Currently, 25 Vande Bharat Express trains are operational on various routes across the country. These include New Delhi-Varanasi, New Delhi-Katra, Mumbai-Gandhinagar, New Delhi-Amb Andaura, Chennai-Mysuru, Bilaspur-Nagpur, Howrah-New Jalpaiguri, Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad, Mumbai-Solapur, Mumbai-Shirdi, Delhi-Rani Kamlapati, Secunderabad-Tirupati, Chennai-Coimbatore, Delhi Cantt-Ajmer, TVC-Kannur, Howrah-Puri, Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri, Anand Vihar-Dehradun, Rani Kamlapati-Jabalpur, Khajuraho-Bhopal-Indore, Madgaon-Mumbai, Dharwad-Bengaluru, Ranchi-Patna, Gorakhpur-Lucknow, and Jodhpur-Sabarmati.