Indian Railways to Introduce Nine More Vande Bharat Sleeper Trains by December 2025
10th February, 2025
Clearing the way for the next production run of nine sleeper variants of the premium train, the Ministry of Railways has given a nod to the long-distance trial runs of the first Vande Bharat Sleeper train. All these 16-car sleeper trains will be manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai and are proposed to be offered start service before December 2025.
Plans in place for 24-car Vande Bharat Sleeper trains
Alongside the 16-car series, Indian Railways are also set to introduce 24-car Vande Bharat Sleeper trains. On December 17, 2024, Railways ordered a propulsion electrics system that powers the ICT-through electricity for 50 rakes of these extended trains. The contract was divided between two firms: Hyderabad-based Medha Servo Drives Pvt Ltd (MSDPL) is to supply propulsion systems for 33 rakes, and the 17 rakes belong to a French supplier, Alstom. Mass production of the 24-car Vande Bharat sleeper trains is likely to begin in 2026-27.
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Successful Trial Runs
On January 15, 2025, the Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) conducted a 540-km trial run of the first 16-car Vande Bharat Sleeper train on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad section. The train was manufactured by the ICF and was completed in December 2024. Moreover, it was also tested along the Kota Division over short-distance runs of 30-40 km at a high speed of 180 km/hr.
Before the train’s commercial service, RDSO will issue a final certification after analysis of the trial results. Furthermore, an inspection at the maximum speed shall also be conducted by the railway safety commissioner.
Train features and passenger capacity
The newly introduced 16-car Vande Bharat Sleeper train features three classes:
AC 1st Class
AC 2 tier
AC 3 tier
The train has a total seating capacity of 1,128 passengers and encompasses all modern safety measures, such as crash buffers, deformation tubes, and a fire barrier wall.
Big Contracts for Train Manufacturing
Indian Railways has entered into an alliance with national and international companies for mass production of Vande Bharat Sleeper trains. A consortium of Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd (TRSL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) was awarded a contract in June 2023 to manufacture 80 sleeper trains at an estimated total cost of ₹24,000 crore.
Another major deal was signed on September 27, 2023, with Kinet Railway Solutions Ltd, a joint venture between India and Russia. This special-purpose vehicle includes the Russian leading rolling stock manufacturer Transmashholding TMH and Indian state-owned Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd RVNL.
According to this agreement, Kinet is obliged to provide 1,920 Vande Bharat Sleeper coaches and 35 years of maintenance. The trains are to be manufactured at Marathwada Rail Coach Factory MRCF in Latur, Maharashtra.
Future for the Vande Bharat Sleeper Trains
With these sleeper variants, Indian Railways aims to give long-distance travel a speed and comfort upgrade. As production ramps up, high-end and efficient rail travel is expected for passengers in the coming years.
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