ICF's second Vande Bharat sleeper ready for trial at MP

CHENNAI: The second Vande Bharat sleeper jointly manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) and Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) reached Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, last week for a trial run.

A senior ICF official said, "The trial run designed by the Railways' R&D wing, Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), would take place between Madhya Pradesh's Khajuraho and Uttar Pradesh's Mahoba. After the run, the rake will be subjected to speed trials at 180 kmph in Rajasthan's Kota. Within 30 days of the speed trial, corrections and rectifications will take place."

As the first Vande Bharat rake is stationed at Delhi, the second train will also be taken to Shakurbasti trainset depot there, the official added. The Ministry of Railways is yet to allocate the sleeper rakes to respective zones.

"The first 10 Vande Bharat sleeper trains are being jointly manufactured by the ICF and BEML. The third rake is expected by November-end, and the remaining seven by March 2026, which is also the deadline. After the completion of this project, ICF will begin independently manufacturing the VB sleepers by September 2026," the ICF official explained.

The 16-car sleeper version includes facilities like modular toilet cabins with showers, automatic doors, Wi-Fi, engineered train insulation, fire barrier wall, talkback system and Kavach collision prevention systems with the capacity to hold 1,128 passengers.

Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, in September, noted that the sleeper train service would be launched when the second rake is also ready. Due to continuity of operations, both to and from trains would be launched together, and the ministry would decide on the route.