Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw refutes delays in Vande Bharat sleeper trains over design | India Information – Instances of India

NEW DELHI: Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has dismissed media studies suggesting delays within the manufacturing of Vande Bharat sleeper prepare on account of resign clearance issues. Addressing the media on Thursday, Vaishnaw mentioned that the design course of was by no means a difficulty with the Russian agency Transmasholding (TMH), contracted to provide the prepare units.
Earlier studies claimed Indian Railways requested design modifications, together with the addition of bathrooms and pantry automobiles, which allegedly delayed the ministry’s approval of the revised design.
Vaishnaw refuted these claims, saying the delays have been really on account of TMH’s restricted manufacturing capability, as the corporate is accustomed to producing trains with solely six to eight coaches—customary in Russia.
The minister clarified that Indian Railways had offered TMH with the Vande Bharat design and explicitly specified the requirement for prepare units with 16, 20, or 24 coaches, reflecting India’s bigger inhabitants and better passenger demand.
“The agency would not have expertise to fabricate a prepare set of greater than six or eight coaches. We had clearly instructed them that we are going to give them design of Vande Bharat to comply with. What they want is extra manufacturing groups,” Vaishnaw mentioned.
He added, “I need to make clear that when the contract was signed, it clearly mentioned that they need to manufacture prepare units with coaches 16/20/24.”
Vaishnaw additionally talked about that some routes in India require 24-coach trains, whereas others want 16-coach configurations, and TMH was initially unprepared to fulfill these calls for. He added that the problems have been resolved, and manufacturing will start quickly.
The minister reiterated Indian Railways’ dedication to the well timed execution of the challenge and expressed confidence in TMH’s skill to adapt to the distinctive necessities of India’s rail community.
The contract requires TMH to fabricate 1,920 sleeper coaches, essential for the enlargement of the Vande Bharat fleet.