The newly designed rake of Vande Bharat Express is expected to roll out of the Integral Coach Factory here around March 2023, railway sources said on Sunday.
Three companies have submitted bids for the multi-crore project to make 44 rakes or 700-plus coaches. According to the tender conditions, the first two prototype rakes for commercial operation should be delivered in 28 months from the date of award of contract. However, the sources said no date had been fixed yet for finalising the tender and awarding the contract.
The Railways had initially tasked the ICF with making 720 coaches for running 45 Vande Bharat Express trains in December 2019. This was after India’s first semi-high speed train evoked a good response from travellers. In the revised Rolling Stock Programme, the target for 2020-2021 has been fixed at 240 coaches or 15 trainsets or rakes, with a possible modification of the goal. The revision has become necessary for different reasons, including the lockdown and safety measures to control COVID-19 that have slowed the production of coach-making factories.
After allegations over a particular company having been favoured and safety features being compromised, the specifications for Train18 were sent back to the drawing board.
Advanced features
Some changes approved by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation include increasing the flood proofing level from 203 mm to 650 mm above the rail, reducing the time to achieve 160 kmph from 190 seconds to 140 seconds and integration of the fire detection and alarm system in such a manner that in case of smoke or a fire, the doors shall open only after the train stops, the sources said.
As for the move to rope in private players for train operations, All India Railwaymen’s Federation national working president N. Kanniah said the cost of importing trainsets or bringing in a foreign company would cost more than ₹98 crore, the original cost of Train18.
Instead of allowing private parties to run trains with a heavy discount on haulage charges, the Ministry of Railways should let each zonal railway operate premium trains, using Linke Hoffman Busch (LHB) coaches, with the freedom to fix rates on a par with the tariff of private trains run by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, he said.
