Vande Bharat Sleeper trains to be put in service by Feb 2024

New Delhi, Sep 30 (IANS) After the sustained final design of much awaited sleeper version of the semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express train is all set to be put in service by February next year.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said that the basic design of the Vande Bharat Sleeper trains has been approved and the manufacturing of the train sets have already started. 

He said this while speaking with the media here. Vaishnaw said that the prototype of the new almost approved sleeper version of Vande Bharat train is all set to be put on track test in December.

After track test, India's first sleeper version of Vande Bharat train, would be rolled out in February, he said. 

He further said that the prototype of new design would be first put on test on track in December this year and the final rake of sleeper version of Vande Bharat train will be rolled out in February next year. 

He said that the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory and the Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) factory based in Bengaluru will be manufacturing the new sleeper verion of the Vande Bharat Express trains.

The Minister also explained that many elements that the Railways learnt and understood in Vande Bharat have been implemented in the sleeper version. 

He also said that major structural design changes were also made in the sleeper version of the train. 

The Minister further asserted that the coach composition of the new Vande Bharat Express sleeper trains will be either 22 or 24 coach configuration. 

The Vande Bharat sleeper trains will be a significant addition to the Indian Railways fleet, as they will allow passengers to travel long distances on these high-speed trains overnight.