Vande Bharat sleeper trains may be delayed as Railways seek for more toilets, luggage space and…

Under the MCMA, Kinet will supply 1,920 Vande Bharat sleeper coaches to Indian Railways and provide maintenance services for a period of 35 years, reported IndianExpress report.

Meanwhile, Kirill Lipa, CEO of Transmashholding (TMH), the major shareholder in the joint venture (JV) awarded the contract to manufacture 1,920 Vande Bharat sleeper coaches, was quoted as saying by TOI, “If Indian Railways will postpone the process, the timeline for execution will definitely be impacted…We are keen to start production quickly. To my feelings, what we are discussing can all be resolved at the same time, within two hours. We are spending months just sending letters and waiting for the explanations.”

Furthermore, Kinet Railway Solutions, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed by TMH and Indian Railways’ PSU RVNL, secured the Rs 55,000 crore contract to manufacture Vande Bharat sleeper trains. The agreement was signed in September 2023. TMH is one of the top five railway companies globally, employing over 1 lakh people.

Lipa, CEO of Transmashholding (TMH), mentioned that until May this year, they were optimistic about rolling out the first prototype of the Vande Bharat sleeper train by the end of the year. However, Indian Railways requested changes in the design of the coaches, requiring the team to rework the plans. “These changes are creating the need for time and for additional budget,” he said. The SPV has now sought compensation for the design modifications.

However, Lipa expressed hope that the prototype will be rolled out by the second quarter of next year. According to the contract, the deadline for the rollout is the end of 2025.

In the revised design of the rolling stock, Indian Railways has requested four lavatory rooms per car, one pantry car in each train, reduced pantry space per train, and luggage zones in the end cars of each train. Previously, the design included three toilets per car, no pantry car (instead, a pantry area in each car), and no luggage zones. Additionally, Railways has modified the order, now demanding 80 trainsets with 24 cars each, instead of 120 trainsets with 16 cars each.

Lipa stated that while the number of coaches in each train is not an issue, changes in the design are a complex process. He was quoted as saying to TOI, “It’s not the design of the coaches itself. The significant changes have been about the design. For example, we got the demand to increase the number of toilets. If you put this additional toilet into the coach, it seems there is no problem. But the problem comes from engineering. We need certain systems for this, and it means you need to change the whole layout of the coach; reshape the design and engineering infrastructure within the coach. You need to change in terms of windows and seats. So, when we have some deviations like this, it unfortunately brings us back in terms of design because the old design is more or less completely finished.”