Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget recently announced 400 new Vande Bharat trains at a time when only two currently ply in India — Delhi-Varanasi and Delhi-Katra. Train 18, as it is called, is a semi-high-speed, intercity EMU train with airplane style rotatable seats designed and manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory at Perambur in Chennai.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishwav says a new version series of these trains has been designed and serial production for the rakes is likely to commence by September. With the focus on safety and comfort, including reduced noise and vibration levels, the Indian Railways and its vendors are working hard to meet these new targets.
Kineco Ltd. has received an order for the front end of 35 of these trains. “We have an order for the front end of 35 trains and are now building them,” says Shekhar Sardessai, Executive Vice Chairman & Managing Director of the Goa-based Kineco Ltd. A pioneer of composites for the manufacture of a wide range of products for rail, road, air and space transport vehicles, Kineco is also understood to have bid to create the complete interiors for the first rollout of the trains. The Railways is also considering the use of aluminium over steel for building the coaches, to make the trains lighter and faster, as well as, improving energy efficiency.
