Railways plan Vande Bharat Metro trains launch for inter-city travel later this year, Kapurthala Rail Factory to build

The first of India's Vande Bharat metro trains will roll out from Indian Railways' Kapurthala Rail Coach Factory later this year, two people aware of the plan said, with the train's prototype ready for trials.

The 12-coach trains, which can be extended to 16 if required, will serve India's rapidly expanding inter-city and suburban routes. In the first two years after the prototype is approved, 50 such trains are expected to be introduced, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity.

The made-in-India trains will take India into select global club of metro train rolling stock makers, dominated by countries in Europe, South Korea, China and Canada. Metro coaches operating in various Indian cities are currently supplied by global train makers, with some of them manufacturing coaches and train sets in the country, including under technology transfer agreements.

Larger orders

Also read: Vande Bharat Metro to soon replace Mumbai local trains

Subsequently, the Railways will place larger orders of over 400 trains, requiring investments worth ₹50,000 crore over next few years in manufacturing units.

While a 12-coach metro train currently costs ₹100-120 crore, domestic manufacturing would bring that down by a fourth, making it one of the cheapest metro systems globally.

“These trains are first being manufactured for domestic consumption to connect over 125 cities covering short distances between 100-250 km. First set of the trains would be run between 12 key cities including Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Mathura, Varanasi, Tirupati, Chennai etc. Based on the availability, export option would also be explored later,” said the first person quoted above.

A query sent to the railway ministry remained unanswered till press time.

Multi-pronged approach

Also read: Vande Metro train: Trials, features and more here

Saurabh Agarwal, partner with EY Investment Growth Group said that a multi-pronged approach is necessary to achieve the goal of self-reliance. “Localization would have a cascading effect, generating more jobs, fostering increased investment in research and development, and ultimately reducing dependence on imports. These factors are all essential for achieving self-sufficiency in India,” he said.

The 12-coach trains can be extended to 16, depending on the need. The coaches will feature all modern amenities available on Vande Bharat trains now. It will have a maximum speed of 120-160 km per hour, same as the existing chair car version of Vande Bharat semi high-speed trains, but come with faster acceleration required for inter-city trains with more stops. It will cater to the general category of passengers and daily commuters, and thus have an entire unreserved configuration.

Also read: Indian Railways to launch first Vande Bharat sleeper train and Vande Metro

Vande Bharat metro would be third in a series of trains proposed under the Make in India tag. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier announced that three versions of Vande Bharat semi-high-speed trains would be launched to change the face of rail travel India.

The first chair car version of Vande Bharat rolled out on 15 February, 2019. As per railway data, 51 Vande Bharat trains (102 Vande Bharat train services) are operational on 100 different routes, spanning 284 districts in 24 states and Union Territories. The second chair car version of Vande Bharat train and the metro versions are expected to be launched later this year.