Indian Railways to export Vande Bharat trains, to manufacture 475 units in next 3 years

The railways is aiming to become a significant exporter of Vande Bharat trains by 2025–2026 to markets in Europe, South America, and East Asia, as a senior official said on Friday. The official also stated that the most recent iteration of the domestic trains with sleeper coaches will be running by the first quarter of 2024. Additionally, he stated that 75 Vande Bharat trains will travel 10–12 lakh kilometres over the next three years to be prepared for export.

"The ecosystem to export trains has to be created over the next two to three years. We are on track to manufacture 475 Vande Bharat trains in the next three years, and once they run successfully... There will be confidence in global markets about our product. The Vande Bharat trains meet all international standards," he said.

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Talking about these trains, the official said these have a rider index of three, which means no or minimal jolts for passengers; and a noise level of 65 decibel, which is 100 times less than the sound produced in aircraft.

He also said that while the present Vande Bharat trains are fit for broad gauge, the railways' manufacturing units will customise the trains to run on standard gauges used by countries across the world.

In fact, the national transporter is constructing a 59 km testing track between Gudha-Thathana Mithri in Jodhpur Division (about 70 Km from Jaipur) for carrying out tests/trials of various rolling stocks. This track can test trains running at a maximum speed of 220 kmph, maneuvering a variety of curves. The track will be ready by January 2024, and trains which will be exported will be tested here for prospective clients, officials said.

They also said that sleeper Vande Bharat trains will be ready by the first quarter of 2024 and will be manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory Chennai. A decision is yet to be taken on whether these trains will replace the existing Rajdhani and Duronto trains on routes like Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Howrah, and other major routes or run parallel.

In another development, the officials said India will get its first tilting trains by 2025-26, with 100 Vande Bharat trains being manufactured using this technology which enables trains to maneuver curves at higher speeds, just as a motorbike on a winding road. They said 100 of the 400 Vande Bharat trains to be manufactured by 2025 will have this technology.

With inputs from PTI