Indian Railways to get 200 new Vande Bharat trains with THESE new features

The Ministry of Railways is set to acquire the third batch of 200 Vande Bharat trains with sleeper amenities, following the Vande Bharat train with seating chairs. The Railways may release a tender of Rs 24,000 crore this month for this purpose.

Railways to start 200 new Vande Bharat trains

In March, the Indian Railways are planning to issue a tender of Rs 24,000 crore to manufacture 200 Vande Bharat trains with sleeper amenities for overnight travel. Currently, Railways is using 102 Vande Bharat Express trains with chair carriages. The Railways have already granted contracts to the Integral Coach Factory to produce 44 Vande Bharat trains, and a bidding process for 58 more trains is presently underway.

Apart from the production sites in Kapurthala, Chennai, and Rae Bareli, Indian Railways would provide the recently built Latur facility for constructing 200 Vande Bharat train sets.

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The version-3 Vande Bharat trains will be lighter, more energy-efficient, and equipped with more modern conveniences, as well as more passenger amenities. 102 Vande Bharat Express trains have been launched so far with only seating layouts.

Facilities that will be available in new trains

The procurement of 400 extra Vande Bharat trains was already announced in the Union Budget 2022-23. According to a senior Railway Ministry official, the bidding documents for 200 Vande Bharat trains with 3,200 coaches are being finalised and will be issued in March.

According to the budget provision, a 16-coach Vande Bharat train is anticipated to cost Rs 120 crore. Bidders for the Vande Bharat Express version 3 would be able to choose between aluminium and steel carriages.

There will be three divisions in the forthcoming 200 Vande Bharat Sewa: AC-1, AC-2, and AC-3. Specifications for lightweight bogies, transformers, and motors, among other things, are being prepared to utilise modern technology.

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