New Vande Bharat trains to have 24 coaches instead of 16; Indian Railways revises Rs 35,000 crore order; check key details

Indian Railways has revised its Rs 35,000 crore Vande Bharat train orders from 120 train sets with 16 coaches each to 80 train sets having 24 coaches each. Each train set will cost about Rs 120 crore.

The first prototype of this revised Vande Bharat model is slated to appear in September 2025, with the second prototype following in November.

These modern train sets will be manufactured in stages, led by Kinet Railway Solutions, which will be situated in Latur.

Kinet Railway Solutions is a joint venture (JV) between Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), Russian engineering company Metrowagonmash, and Locomotive Electronic Systems (LES) in a 25:70:5 ratio.

The overarching concept is for the production of 2,500 high-speed trains by 2047, progressively replacing the previous generation of train sets.

A considerable transition in building materials from steel to aluminium is intended to solve concerns of speed and cost efficiency, reflecting significant advances in train design and performance.

What was the original contract of Vande Bharat Express?

Previously, the deal included the manufacture of 200 sleeper Vande Bharat train sets, each with 16 coaches, as well as a 35-year maintenance plan. The L1 bidder was responsible for producing 120 train sets at the Marathwada Rail Coach Factory (MRCF) in Latur, while the L2 bidder was in charge of 80 train sets at ICF in Chennai. However, the Ministry of Railways has recently changed the scope of the contract to include the manufacture of 80 train sets with 24 coaches each.