India to get 10 new Vande Bharat sleeper trains? Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw says trains under production

Looking at the spike in demand for Vande Bharat trains across the country, the Indian Railways will soon get at least 10 new Vande Bharat sleeper trains. Union railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a Lok Sabha statement, said that the ten such trains were currently under production.

The minister also said that technology partners were awarded the manufacturing of 200 Vande Bharat sleeper rakes.

Earlier this month, Vaishnaw informed that the first Vande Bharat sleeper prototype was manufactured and ready for field trials.

As of December 2 this year, 136 Vande Bharat trains that feature chair cars (both CC and EC) operate in the country.

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According to the minister, the overall occupancy of Vande Bharat express trains throughout October was more than 100 per cent. 

While responding to another Parliament question, Vaishnaw also added that all Indian Railways production units have been putting out only Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) coaches since April 2018.

LHB coaches, according to the Railways, are technologically superior, lighter, and safer than the previously used Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coaches. 

LHB coach production in India has skyrocketed in the past decade. From 2014 to 2024, production climbed to 36,933 coaches, more than 16 times that of the 2,337 coaches produced in the previous decade (2004-2014).

After Vande Bharat, make way for Amrit Bharat and Namo Bharat train series

Earlier this month, railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw mentioned two new services along the lines of the Vande Bharat—Amrit Bharat and Namo Bharat train series.

Amrit Bharat trains will be based on technology similar to Vande Bharat but designed entirely for non-AC travel. The Indian Railways plans to produce 50 new Amrith Bharat trains following successful initial fleet operations in the last ten months, according to the minister. 

Namo Bharat trains will focus on short-distance shuttles between two nearby cities. These high-frequency services are in line with European regional train standards. The minister said that two Namo Bharat trains are already operational and that large-scale production will commence after performance evaluations.