The Ministry of Railways announced on Thursday that it would be adding 10 sleeper trains to its Vande Bharat fleet.
As of Dec. 2, 2024, the Indian Railways operates a total of 136 Vande Bharat train services on its broad gauge electrified network across the country. They undertake short and medium distance journeys.
The 10 Vande Bharat Sleeper trains that are under production will ply on long as well as medium-distance routes across the country, it said in a press release uploaded on X.
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The first prototype has been manufactured and will undergo field trials soon, it said, adding that the timeline of the rollout is subject to successful completion of the trials.
In a statement to the Lok Sabha, Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said that till Oct. 2024, the overall occupancy on the 136 Vande Bharat Express trains has been more than 100%.
The Union minister also told the House that from April 2018, the Railways has been producing only Linke-Hofmann-Busch coaches. And the production of the LHB coaches has been on the rise, with 36,933 such coaches being manufactured in the 2014-24 period, which is 16 times that was seen in the 2004-14 era.
Indian Railways has proliferated LHB coaches, which he said were "technologically superior with features like anti climbing arrangement, air suspension with failure indication system and less corrosive shell".
The Railways's statement also asserted that under the Sugamya Bharat Mission, it has been "making significant strides" in ensuring that persons with disabilities and passengers with reduced mobility can access its services.
Pointing to the various facilities provided for such people, the Indian Railways said that till Nov. 2024, it had installed 1,512 escalators across 399 stations and 1,607 lifts at 609 stations. This, according to it, marked a "remarkable growth" compared to the previous decade—an increase of nine and 14 times, respectively.
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