Bengaluru: While anticipation over the country’s second Vande Bharat sleeper service continues, two more rakes are set to be readied by next month. This rollout from the city-based public sector undertaking (PSU), Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML), will enable the second service to be flagged off.As per BEML’s original agreement with the integral coach factory (ICF) in Chennai, a total of 10 sleeper rakes with 16 coaches each were supposed to be delivered to the Indian Railways by March 31. However, sources at ICF state the deadline will be missed. “We expect the third and fourth rakes of Vande Bharat to be delivered before the end of March. For the six remaining rakes, we are trying to make sure to provide a rake every month from then on,” an ICF official told TOI.“As of now, a new tentative deadline for the initial batch of 10 coaches could be August. Even if it is delivered from Bengaluru, they will go through trials, testing and approvals, so there is no point in hurrying or rushing,” the official added.With demand for more Vande Bharat sleeper trains, especially from Karnataka, the railway ministry officially announced plans to manufacture 260 more rakes in the future. Answering a Lok Sabha question last week, Union minister for railways Ashwini Vaishnaw stated: “Vande Bharat sleeper train manufacturing programme is being executed in a phased manner through prototype development, trials and series production by BEML & Integral Coach Factory, Chennai and technology partners.”According to ICF, the project is only in the design stage and will only be taken up following the completion of the initial batch of 10 rakes. A BEML spokesperson confirmed that no such order was undertaken by the PSU as of now.Though there are official plans for the manufacture of 260 Vande Bharat sleeper rakes, sources within the ICF confirmed that 50 more rakes will be manufactured by the factory independently. These rakes, contrary to the rest, will have 24 coaches along with pantry cars.
