Ashwini Vaishnaw dismisses reports of delay in Vande Bharat sleeper trains

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has refuted media reports that the manufacturing process for Vande Bharat sleeper trains has been delayed due to design approval concerns PTI reportedWhile speaking to the media on Thursday Vaishnaw said that the design was never an issue with the Russian firm involved in manufacturing these train setsEarlier a part of media quoting officials from the Russian company Transmashholding TMH reported that the Indian Railways demanded toilets and a pantry car in the train which requires tweaking the trains design PTI citedThe reports further claimed that the firm addressed the Railway Ministrys concerns with the design change and sent it to the ministry for clearance which has however not responded with its consentAs per the contracts the firm is expected to manufacture 1920 sleeper coachesHowever ministry sources claimed that the reports were baseless since the real issues were with regard to the Russian firms limited manufacturing capabilities trains have less number of coaches as compared to IndiaThe firm doesnt have the experience to manufacture a train set of more than six or eight coaches We had told them that we would give them the design of Vande Bharat to follow What they need is more manufacturing teams Vaishnaw saidHe added I want to clarify that when the contract was signed it clearly said that they have to manufacture train sets with coaches 162024As per the minister the firm was clearly told that since India has a huge population some routes required 24 coaches while other routes required 16 coaches PTI reportedMinistry sources said to PTI that since trains generally have six to eight coaches in Russia due to less population the firm questioned why India needed a train set with 16 20 or 24 coachesThe sources claimed that the issues have been resolved and the work is expected to start very soon PTI reportedIndian Railways announces Vande Bharat train trio portfolioThe Indian Railways IR said it was expanding the Vande Bharat Portfolio with Vande Bharat Express Vande Metro and the upcoming Vande Bharat Sleeper trains catering to both short and longdistance travellersldquoIndigenously designed under the lsquoMake in Indiarsquo initiative offer cuttingedge features delivering luxury and efficiency to millions of passengers With faster commute times advanced safety features and worldclass amenities Indian Railways is setting new benchmarks in travelrdquo an IR spokesperson saidldquoAs the flagship initiative under the lsquoMake in Indiarsquo campaign the Vande Bharat trains embody Indias aspirations for modern efficient and worldclass Rail travel With the Vande Bharat Express Vande Metro and the upcoming Vande Bharat Sleeper trains Indian Railways is poised to redefine the passenger experience catering to both short and longdistance travellers with unprecedented speed safety and comfortrdquo he saidWith inputs from PTI