Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has rejected the media reports that the delay in the manufacturing of the Vande Bharat sleeper trains is due to problems in the clearance of designs. Addressing the media on Thursday, Vaishnaw made it clear that there was no issue with the Russian firm Transmashholding (TMH), which has been assigned to producing train sets.
As per some media reports, the Indian Railways had asked for some modifications in the train including pantry cars and toilets. The changes would have changed the original design. These reports mentioned that a revised design was submitted by the TMH for approval but has not received a confirmation from the Railway Ministry.
Focus is on manufacturing, not design
Vaishnaw has firmly rejected all these statements, stressing that the main issue was the firm’s limited experience in manufacturing with larger train sets. As per PTI sources from the Ministry, TMH has experience in manufacturing trains with fewer coaches in Russia and is facing difficulties in meeting India’s requirement for manufacturing train sets with 16, 20, or even 24 coaches. The specifications for larger production of train sets with higher coach capacities were demanded because of India’s larger population.
The railway minister stated that in Russia, trains usually have six to eight coaches because of less population. The requirements have been communicated to the firm and it needs to boost its manufacturing team accordingly.
Current status of the project
On the current status of the project, ministry sources confirmed to PTI that the concerns have been tackled and manufacturing of 1,920 sleeper coaches as per the contract is expected to commence soon. Vaishnaw expressed his confidence in the partnership, reasserting that India’s demands with specifications were told to the firm since the beginning and the project is on track.