The government is likely to announce another 300-400Vande Bharat(VB) trains in the nextBudget. The railways is also targetting to manufacture the first “standard gauge” (SG) version of this semi-high-speed train in the next one year, which will pave way for its export to markets in Europe, South America and east Asia by 2025-26.
The announcement of the new VB trains will be in addition to the already announced plan to making 475 such semi high-speed trains operational in the next 3-4 years. Sources said the ultimate aim is to sanction 300-400 such trains annually to meet the growing demand and to provide better riding experience to passengers.
On the plan to improve upon the design of these trains to increase their speed on existing tracks, a RAILWAY ministry official said India will get its first set of trains with tilting technology by 2025-26. Nearly 100 VB trains out of the already sanctioned 475 will use this technology, which enables trains to maneuver curves at higher speeds.