Indian Railways has successfully completed trials of the second generation Vande Bharat train that will come with more passenger comfort and safety features, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
Regular production of these trains may begin from October, he added the testing of Vande Bharat is completed target may reach in October. Initially it starts from regular production of two or three trains every month, then it will increase to five to eight trains. The Railways has set a target of rolling out 75 such trains by August 2023.
The new train with a speed of 180 kmph during trials, will be primarily made at Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.
In a big push for the Make in India initiative, the minister has firmed up a road map to start domestic production of wheels also which needed for high speed trains and high strength rail tracks.
“We undertook a detailed exercise to study what we import and high speed wheels and high strength rail are two major items. We are working towards not only catering to domestic demand but also becoming exporters”.
As per the tender issued, a manufacturing plant with a capacity to produce at least 80,000 such wheels will be set up within 18 months. The current requirement of the railways is about two lakh wheels per year.
The minister said that this was the first time the railway has floated a tender to invite private people to build a wheel plant and make wheels for high speed trains in India.
