The first sleeper version of Vande Bharat trains from the consortium of Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (Bhel) is expected by 2025.
The consortium on Wednesday signed a contract with Indian Railways to make 80 sleeper trains by 2029. The contract, estimated at Rs 24,000 crore, includes maintenance for 35 years.
The train will be designed to achieve speeds of 160km/hr, Titagarh Rail Systems said on Wednesday.
Umesh Chowdhary, vice-chairman and managing director of TRSL, told The Telegraph a significant part of the manufacturing of the superstructure would be done at the company’s unit at Uttarpara, while the assembly, testing and commissioning will be done at the railway’s facilities in Chennai.
“This will be the first sleeper version of Vande Bharat. The order for these trains shall be carried out over a span of six years, wherein the first prototype shall be delivered within a two-year timeframe, after which the remaining deliveries will take place,” he said.
“Our focus on adopting the latest technology to boost our engineering prowess will help us build state-of-the-art railway train sets, at par with global standards,” Chowdhary said.
