 "First batch of Vande Bharat sleeper trains to be out by March next year")
The Centre will roll out the first batch of sleeper variants of Vande Bharat in March 2024 and the plans to introduce these new trains are on track, railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told The Economic Times (ET).
The design of these sleeper trains, according to Vaishnaw, is being made by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, and will be ready by the end of this year. Currently, 22 trains are being made as per the schedule.
The statement comes against the backdrop of disagreement between the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) and Russia's TMH over the ownership of a consortium that had won the bid to supply 120 Vande Bharat sleeper trains.
Vaishnaw said that the bids for more of these sleeper trains are at various stages of completion.
As of now, Vande Bharat trains have chair car coaches and operate during the day. The sleeper coaches will allow these trains to run overnight and over longer distances.
Vande Bharat Express was launched in February 2019 and the maiden run was on the New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route from New Delhi Railway Station. These run at a speed of 160 kmph. The newer variants are targeting speeds of up to 220 kmph.
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Earlier this month, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the state and launch two new Vande Bharat trains in the state.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Madhya Pradesh on June 27. He will launch two Vande Bharat trains (Bhopal-Indore and Bhopal-Jabalpur) in the state capital Bhopal," Chouhan said.