Vande Bharat (sleeper trainset)

The Vande Bharat sleeper trainset, formerly known as Train-20 is an under development high-speed, long-distance electric multiple unit (EMU) train designed to replace the Rajdhani Express. It is being developed based on existing short-distance Vande Bharat, differing in exterior body, sleeping berths, and onboard amenities due to its long-distance service.

This train was earlier planned to have featured two distinctive classes, the air-conditioned chair car and sleeper car. The sleeper cars would have included AC first class, AC two-tier and AC three-tier sub-classes. However, these plans were shelved after the tenders were red flagged. A series of fresh tenders were launched in 2022 and the contracts for which were awarded in 2023.

Following the renaming of Train-18 as Vande Bharat Express, any mentions of Train-20 were stopped. It is currently known as Vande Bharat Sleeper. It is estimated that the prototype of Vande Bharat Sleeper would be launched in Q1/Q2 of 2024 and it would start its operations in the beginning of 2025.

Background
Long-distance (over 1000 km) train travel in India takes more than twelve hours to complete, making it hectic for the commuters. For example, the Mumbai Rajdhani Express between Mumbai and New Delhi takes about 15 hours and 32 minutes to complete the 1386 km journey. Thus the introduction of a semi-high-speed train with modern coaches could reduce the travel time significantly. Hence Indian Railways began to upgrade the tracks as well as plan for new trainsets that could match the passenger rail standards operated across the developed world.

India began to develop its next generation EMU trainsets named Train-18 which were composed of chair class coaches and were intended to replace short-distance services of Shatabdi Express. During the design phase of this train in 2018, Indian Railways had also planned to introduce a long-distance, sleeper version to replace the half a century old Rajdhani Express. The EMU train with aluminium coaches, a first of its kind in India, was estimated to cost inr 25000000000. It was expected to roll out by 2020, hence it was named "Train-20" similar to its counterpart, the Vande Bharat, which was initially called "Train-18".

Initial plans and cancellation
During the initial plans for the trainset, the designers felt that an aluminium body would make it lighter, energy efficient, and aesthetically 'better looking'. Companies from Japan, China, and Europe were said to be in the race to win the bid for the design consultancy contract for Train-20. The tender as said by the officials was supposed to be finalised by mid-February, 2018. Integral Coach Factory (ICF) planned to build two train rakes by 2020 and thereafter add 24 more trains to the service in the future. Although the pre-bid conference had attracted around seven global players, the Stadler-Medha consortium emerged as the sole bidder after final submission. Others lacked a pre-condition which said that the manufacturer should have an existing manufacturing facility in India. The authorities then began to examine the bid submitted by the Swiss consortium.

In July 2018, the Nallasopara-Virar train shed which was built by Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation, emerged as a shed that could likely maintain the Train-20 rakes. Western Railways was likely to operate the train's first service, potentially between Mumbai and New Delhi.

Later in 2018, Indian Railways received a rap from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion which red-flagged the initial tender, stating that it was not in line with India's ambitious 'Make in India' project. Hence, a brand new tender was said to be floated with reworked conditions that would also take care of the interests of domestic manufacturers.

Fresh plans
In 2022, the Government of India floated fresh tenders to construct 200 new sleeper-class trainsets. In March 2023, they announced that the contract for the production of the trains was awarded to Kinet Railway Systems, the consortium comprising RVNL (Indian enterprise) and TMH (a Russian rolling stock company) which emerged as the lowest bidder with inr 120 per trainset. RVNL-TMH consortium, the lowest bidder would manufacture a total of 120 trainsets while the second lowest bidder would manufacture the remainder of 80 sets. A month later, BHEL-Titagarh Wagons consortium bagged the contract to manufacture the remainder of 80 trainsets at the same price, for six years. The commercial production of these sets was slated to begin in June 2025.

Apart from the tenders for 200 trainsets with stainless steel bodies, there were tenders floated in the same year for the manufacturing and maintenance of 100 aluminium body trainsets, for which, Alstom, the French rolling stock manufacturing company emerged as the lowest bidder with inr 150.9 per trainset. The aluminium body was chosen for its lighter weight relative to the stainless steel.

In August 2023, the Russian TMH, part of the RVNL-TMH consortium, submitted a performance bank guarantee of inr 200 thus ending all the speculations of the bid's failure. As per the bid, the consortium would manufacture the 120 trainsets in the Indian Railways facility at Latur and would maintain the sets for 35 years.

Production
As of April 2024, one Vande Bharat sleeper prototype is under construction at ICF-BEML facility in Bengaluru. ICF-BEML were slated to manufacture 10 such trainsets. A total of 200 Vande Bharat sleeper trainsets are planned. Trial runs for the trainsets have been scheduled for May 2024.

Engineering
The 16-coach electric multiple unit trainset is planned to have eleven AC three-tier coaches, four AC two-tier coaches, and one AC first-class coach. The train with a carrying capacity of 887 is slated to operate at speeds up to 160 km/h. Like its seating-only counterpart, the train has an aerodynamic design which helps in countering drag at higher speeds. Driver cabins at both ends enable quick turnaround of the train at terminal stations. The presence of motorised systems in alternative coaches will enable a quick acceleration and deceleration rates of 0.7 - 0.8 m/s2.

According to the first glimpses of the trainset's renders shared on social media, the interiors revealed a modernised design relative to the existing services. The designs were created in collaboration between ICF and BEML. Propulsion will be supplied by ICF, with the assembly of the entire train to be carried out at BEML.

The fully air-conditioned train will have inter-communicative automatic doors. The coaches are designed to have better coupling to reduce jerks, and with improved soundproofing, it is expected to offer a comfortable ride. Every coach will be equipped with a small pantry as well as a sensor-based lighting system in the common areas. 'Soft lighting' will be used to provide a modern ambience. The train will have bunk beds with ladders. The beds will be designed to be broader, comfortable and better cushioned relative to the existing services. Out of 857 berths, 823 will be reserved for the passengers with the remaining 34 designated for the onboard staff. Some of the berths will be disabled-friendly.

There would be three ergonomically designed restrooms per coach, with one of them being designed for the differently abled. These restrooms are equipped with odour control systems, and the wash basins in them are being designed to have anti-spill features. Since this train is intended for long-distance journeys, spacious room for luggage will be provided. Public announcement systems and visual information systems will help in guiding the passengers. A hot shower facility will be exclusively provided for passengers in the first AC.