Rollout of new Vande Bharat sleeper coaches may be delayed

Under the MCMA, Kinet will supply 1,920 Vande Bharat sleeper coaches to Indian Railways and provide maintenance services for a period of 35 years, reported IndianExpress report.

Meanwhile, Kirill Lipa, CEO of Transmashholding (TMH), the major shareholder in the joint venture (JV) awarded the contract to manufacture 1,920 Vande Bharat sleeper coaches, was quoted as saying by TOI, “If Indian Railways will postpone the process, the timeline for execution will definitely be impacted…We are keen to start production quickly. To my feelings, what we are discussing can all be resolved at the same time, within two hours. We are spending months just sending letters and waiting for the explanations.”

Furthermore, Kinet Railway Solutions, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed by TMH and Indian Railways’ PSU RVNL, secured the Rs 55,000 crore contract to manufacture Vande Bharat sleeper trains. The agreement was signed in September 2023. TMH is one of the top five railway companies globally, employing over 1 lakh people.