The operation of Vande Bharat sleeper express train set manufactured between Integral Coach Factory (ICF) and BEML is likely to be delayed by a month, according to sources.
It is learnt that ICF flagged certain issues, including interiors after the train’s prototype arrived at the factory in Perambur. However, these are being sorted out, and the train will leave for load testing in a week.
The prototype of the Vande Bharat sleeper express train set manufactured between Integral Coach Factory (ICF) and BEML was unveiled on Wednesday at ICF. Around 15 days ago, the first set came to ICF, which is doing initial tests and minor works, including furnishing. By November 15, the train will be ready for testing purposes, ICF General Manager U Subba Rao recently told newspersons.
The testing will be done in Lucknow RDSO, and at Western Railway and Central Railway. The train will be dispatched there for trials, which includes braking and control systems in running conditions, he told newspersons.
The order was given a year ago. The cost of the train set is ₹120 crore, he said.
BEML will produce ten trains, a 16-car train. ICF has an order to produce 50 trains of 24 cars that will be made in Chennai. Tenders have already been floated for the propulsion system, he said. “We have got a timeline of 24 months, but after the tenders are finalised we may produce it in 18 months,” he added.
The sleeper train was expected to be inaugurated by December but pushed to January, sources said.
Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a statement in the Rajya Sabha that the first prototype of the Vande Bharat Sleeper trainset will undergo field trials. The timeline for the train’s rollout is subject to the successful completion of the trials.
He said Vande Bharat Sleeper trains planned for longa—and medium-distance journeys are equipped with modern features and passenger amenities.