Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday took to X, formerly Twitter, to post a video of him unveiling the body structure of Vande Bharat’s sleeper coaches at a Bharat Earth Movers Limited in Bengaluru.

BEML operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence and specialises in manufacturing products for a diverse range of sectors, including defence, aerospace, mining, construction, rail, and metro systems. Additionally, it has secured orders to produce 10 trainsets comprising 160 coaches each for the Vande Bharat Sleeper project.

As per Vaishnaw, the Vande Bharat trains have three versions, namely, chair car, sleeper and metro. Although the chair car variant has been successfully launched and garnered significant popularity, the first carbody for the Vande sleeper is ready.

Vaishnaw said that the next step is the furnishing work of the carbody. “Manufacturing carbody is the most difficult work. Today, we will discuss how to scale it up further,” he said.

He further said that the Indian Railways will train the first trainset for five to six months post which it will be launched. “Since the sleeper train is based on the same technology on which the chair car is working, it will offer similar benefits such as jerk-free, noiseless, quick acceleration and deceleration etc,” he added. Special attention has been given to passengers’ comfort in sleeper train.

Eliminating virus on Vande Bharat trains

Vaishnaw mentioned that the foot area of the ladder has been improved for easier passenger access to the train. The toilets feature updated designs, and the air-conditioning system offers improved control. The seat cushions utilise advanced technology for enhanced comfort. Oxygen levels will be maintained, and measures are in place to eliminate 99.99% of viruses, Vaishnaw said.  He further said that this modern train boasts superior safety features in comparison to the conventional mail/express trains currently in operation.

Cost of production

Vaishanw compared the cost of production of Vande Bharat Sleeper Coach to coach production in other countries. He said in developed nations, the manufacturing cost of a single coach equipped with similar amenities typically amounts to around Rs 10 crore. “However, the one Vande Bharat Sleeper Coach cost comes around Rs 8-9 crore because a lot of work has been happening in-house with our own manpower and technology,” he added.

(With PTI inputs)