In a big development, a rail coach factory in Punjab's Kapurthala rolled out the first few coaches of the Vande Bharat Metro, marking a significant milestone in India's rail infrastructure development. The Vande Bharat Metro is slated for testing in July this year with plans for deployment across 124 cities, covering distances ranging from 100 km to 150 km. Initially, plans are in place to construct 50 of these innovative trains, with the potential for expansion up to 400.

Designed for efficiency and convenience, the Metro boasts a range of 100 km to 250 km, offering passengers swift connectivity across short destinations. Featuring a default configuration of 12 coaches, it can be expanded to accommodate up to 16 coaches. These trains will serve as a vital link between major urban centres and satellite cities, operating on existing tracks.

Identified routes include Lucknow-Kanpur, Agra-Mathura and Tirupati-Chennai. Designed for high acceleration and equipped with spacious interiors and large automatic doors, the trains aim to cater to the needs of general category passengers, especially those commuting daily.

In response to demand, the Indian Railways may consider increasing the number of coaches per train on routes with high ridership. Additionally, plans are underway to introduce long-distance focused Vande sleeper trains and push-pull variant Amrit Bharat trains in the near future. Currently, medium-distance chair car Vande Bharat trains are operational.