Mumbai: Vande Bharat trains to be made in Latur's Marathwada Railway Coach Factory from August

Production of state of art semi high speed Vande Bharat train will start in Latur-based Marathwada Railway Coach Factory by August 2023, said Raosaheb Danve, Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways on Sunday. During his visit Danve reviewed the current status of the railway coach factory.

120 Vande Bharat trains to be made in Latur

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced plans to launch 400 new Vande Bharat trains in the country, and of these, 120 will be manufactured in Latur. If required, another 80 trains will also be made in this factory, the minister said.

"The Centre Government has sanctioned Rs 600 crore to set up the coach factory in Latur and efforts are on to begin operations at the facility at the earliest. The contract process is underway with a consortium of Russia and Indian Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), he added.

The Marathwada Rail Coach Factory is going to significantly contribute to the overall development of this aspirational region of Maharashtra by heralding a modern industrial ecosystem," said Danve adding that the factory had been designed with an initial capacity of manufacturing 250 MEMU/EMU/LHB/trainset-type advanced coaches per annum.

"Its capacity can be enhanced significantly as sufficient vacant space has been marked in the layout plan" he further added.

Marathwada Rail Coach Factory spread across 350 acres

The factory has been set up on 350 acres of land comprising 52,000 square metres of pre-engineered building sheds, a yard with three railway lines, an electric substation with a 33kV supply, a canteen, security and administrative blocks, and a residential colony on 24 acres.

A 5 km long rail link has been provided for the movement of coaches from the factory to the new electronically interlocked Harangul railway station, which earlier used to be only a halt. The factory has been equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and plant, material handling systems, and various utilities.