With a focus on acquiring new technology for train services, the Indian Railways has invited leading rolling stock players to manufacture 100 upgraded Vande Bharat train sets with articulated bogie, aluminium body and sleeper facilities to run at a maximum speed of 200 kmph.

Articulated technology, to be used in the manufacture, enables the trains to negotiate curves on the tracks without losing the speed and thereby reducing the running time to some extent.

A Rs 30,000 crore tender has been floated for manufacturing of the state-of-the-art Vande Bharat trains to run at higher speed than the existing 160 kmph as the Railways has plans to upgrade its tracks and signalling system for 200 kmph speed. While the first pre-bid would be held on August 23, the last date of bid submission is November 25.

Currently, Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes are being upgraded to 160 kmph speed. “Since these aluminum-bodied Vande Bharat trains will have codal life of 35 years, the Railways is likely to strengthen its tracks and upgrade signalling system for 200 kmph run in future,” said a senior Railway Ministry official.

Besides these two corridors, other trunk routes are also slated to be upgraded in due course. The latest Vande Bharat tender envisages 100 train sets equipped with articulated bogie and concentrated power car system, a first in Indian Railways.

Also known as push-pull system as the train set would be hauled by two locomotives at the rear and front of the train, a departure from the distributed power system. The Railways aims to deliver 75 Vande Bharat trains by 23 August next year and one such train is expected to be rolled out before 15 August this year.

Earlier, two Vande Bharat trains were expected to roll out from the Integral Coach Factory at Chennai. However, due to the Ukraine war and supply chain problem, the manufacturing process got disrupted.

Now, one Vande Bharat prototype train is being readied for roll out in August and the second one is expected in September. After rolling out, the prototype would be on trial run for 45 days before being commissioned for the service.

While Vande Bharat trains with seating facilities would replace Shatabdi and intercity services, Rajdhani trains would be replaced by Vande Bharat trainsets with sleeper facilities.

Currently, two Vande Bharat trains are operational to Varanasi and Katra from the capital. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced in her budget 2022-23 for bringing about 400 more Vande Bharat trains.