Maharashtra: Production of Vande Bharat trains in Latur to start from next year

The production of state-of-the-art Vande Bharat trains will start in Rail Coach Factory in Latur by the end of the next financial year i.e. March 2024. The railway ministry aims to produce three Vande Bharat trains every week.

Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology on Wednesday said that, currently one Vande Bharat train is being produced every week in Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.

Vande Bharat production in Latur

By the end of the next financial year, production of Vande Bharat trains will start in the Rail Coach Factory in Latur, Maharashtra Modern Coach Factory and Rail Coach Factory Sonipat.

Apart from that, the production of metro trains are also on the cards. The first train of this type will be ready by the end of 2023. Similarly, the first hydrogen trains in the country will also be ready by the end of this year. Hydrogen-powered trains will be introduced on narrow gauge heritage routes of the Indian railways.

Talking about the infrastructural development in the Indian Railways, Vaishnaw told reporters that currently a 12 km long track is being laid down in the country, and they are targeting to lay down 16 km track daily in the country by next year.

Ashwini Vaishnaw also said that 1,275 railway stations in the country are being redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat station scheme including CSMT of Mumbai.

400 Vande Bharat trains on different routes

The Indian Railways has decided to introduce around 400 Vande Bharat trains on different routes across the country in the next few years, of which 100 will be manufactured at the Rail Coach Factory in Latur, Maharashtra.

"The Marathwada Rail Coach Factory is going to significantly contribute to the overall development of this aspirational region of Maharashtra by heralding a modern industrial ecosystem," a railway official said, adding that the factory had been designed with an initial capacity of manufacturing 250 MEMU/EMU/LHB/trainset-type advanced coaches per annum.