Vande Bharat Express trains being manufactured at ICF, in Chennai.
Credit: PTI Photo
Integral Coach Factory (ICF), one of the major train production units in the country, has its hands full this year. After the success of Vande Bharat Express providing fast connectivity between major cities, the ICF will roll out several versions of the train like a sleeper class, one for short distance commuter travel, and another non-AC train set by this year-end.
Launched as Train 18 and rechristened as Vande Bharat, the trains that are designed to run at a maximum speed of 180 km per hour are indigenously manufactured at the ICF since 2018 and as many as 25 pairs of premium train sets ply between cities across the country.
To ensure that the Vande Bharat series is accessible and affordable to every section of the society, the ICF, as per directions from the Railway Board, will launch four new versions by next year, including an exclusive model for Jammu and Kashmir.
In the 2023-2024 fiscal, the Public Sector Undertaking plans to manufacture 3,241 coaches in 30 variants including, in the Vande Bharat platform, ICF General Manager B G Mallya said on Tuesday.
The company had in the previous fiscal produced 2,702 coaches as per the target given by Railway Board, including 12 Vande Bharat train sets and 2,261 LHB coaches.
Mallya said two push-pull trains with LHB coaches will be rolled out by the end of this fiscal to provide a similar travel experience of Vande Bharat trains in non-AC segment.
“This train will have improved interiors and best-in-class passenger amenities, as provided in Vande Bharat trains. A specially designed locomotive will be connected to the train at each end for push-pull operation to enable it to travel faster,” the GM added.
Two variants of Vande Bharat – Vande Bharat Metro and Vande Bharat sleeper trains – will be rolled out this year. While the first variant will cater to intercity short distance commuter travel with double leaf doors for easy boarding and deboarding of passengers, the second variant will meet the public aspirations of long distance travel by Vande Bharat train.
“ICF is in the process of developing a sleeper version of Vande Bharat with improved interiors and will be turning out in the current year itself,” the GM added.
Besides, the ICF has already taken up the development of Gati Shakti Train for faster freight transport in Vande Bharat platform to e-commerce, fast moving consumer goods and refrigerated commodities, and Vande Bharat for Jammu and Kashmir region.
“These trains will have heating facilities inside the compartments as well as for the water lines to avoid freezing. This train will be rolled out next year,” Mallya added.
The train set consisting of 16 coaches is indigenously designed and will be free of locomotives since traction motors will be fitted underneath each coach to render them self-propelled.
The Vande Bharat Express or Train-18 is a fully air-conditioned train with Second Class and premium First Class and boasts of automatic doors, vacuum toilets, comfortable doors, on-board infotainment, and facilities for people with special needs.