'Vande Bharat's third prototype has to be rolled out first'
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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement of 400 Vande Bharat trains over the next three years seems to be a tall target as the third prototype is yet to be rolled out, an Indian Railway official said.
Presenting the Union Budget for 2022-23, Sitharaman said 400 new energy efficient Vande Bharat trains will be introduced in three year's time.
However, a senior official of the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) told IANS that "the third prototype of the train has to be rolled out first and cleared by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO). Once that is done, production can be streamlined".
Currently only two trains are in service - Delhi to Varanasi and Delhi to Katra.
The official said the third prototype is getting delayed due to production bottlenecks and logistical challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Vande Bharat Express or Train 18 is a semi-high speed train designed, developed and built by the ICF at an outlay of Rs 100 crore.
It is one classic example of Make in India and far cheaper than similar trains that are rolled out by foreign companies.
The train has only about 15 per cent import content which will further go down if production volumes increase, officials had told IANS earlier.
