Launch of Second Set of Vande Bharat Trains Delayed

The second set of Vande Bharat Express trains which was set to be launched in April has been delayed due to the upcoming general elections.

An official said, “The second set of Train 18 will not be launched now. There will be no new trains during election time. In case of starting summer specials and some festival trains, the (Railway) Board will take special clearances from the Election Commission”.

According to the Railway Board’s manufacturing plan, there is no proposal for rolling out any new sets of Vande Bharat Express trains in the month of April. Instead, the second set of trains have now been scheduled for a June release, while the third set will be out in October.

Also, the Integral Coach Factory (IFC) in Chennai, which designed the first Vande Bharat Express, will be making 45 more trains by 2021-22.

The first set of the Vande Bharat Express 18 was flagged off on February 15 from New Delhi.