(FE)
The Ministry of Railways has ordered the production of nine additional sleeper versions of the Vande Bharat Express by December 2025. This decision follows the successful long-distance trial of the first Vande Bharat Sleeper train. The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, the Indian Railways’ primary manufacturing unit, will produce these 16-car trains.
In addition to the 16-car models, Indian Railways is preparing to introduce 24-car Vande Bharat Sleeper trains. The Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) completed successful trials of the first 16-car Vande Bharat Sleeper train on January 15, 2025. The test was conducted over a 540 km stretch between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The train, manufactured by ICF, was earlier tested for high-speed runs of 30-40 km at 180 km/h in the Kota Division. The sleeper train features AC 1st Class, AC 2-Tier, and AC 3-Tier coaches, accommodating 1,128 passengers, and is equipped with safety features like crash buffers, deformation tubes, and a fire barrier wall.
