Vande Bharat Express

Efforts to increase speed

In 1960, the Indian Railway Board commissioned a study to increase the speed of its trains, which was restricted to 96 km/h (60 mph) on the existent broad gauge lines.^[3] The Research Design and Standards Organisation was tasked with achieving a target speed of 160 km/h (99 mph) and an intermediate target of 120 km/h (75 mph) for passenger trains. Rajdhani Express trains, capable of reaching speeds of up to 120 km/h (75 mph), were introduced in 1969. The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at Madras manufactured the coaches, which were hauled by diesel locomotives.^[4][5] With the introduction of WAP-1 electric locomotives, Shatabdi Express trains, introduced in 1988, were capable of running at a maximum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph).^[6][7][8] From the late 1990s, the ICF coaches were began to be replaced by the safer LHB coaches designed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany.^[9][10]

In December 2009, the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India envisaged the implementation of high-speed rail projects to provide passenger services at 250–350 km/h (160–220 mph) through the upgradation of existing tracks, construction of new lines and introduction of high speed trainsets.^[11][12] In the 2014 railway budget, a proposal was made to introduce services operating at a speed of 160–200 km/h (99–124 mph) connecting major cities.^[13] Gatimaan Express, introduced in 2016, achieved speeds of 160 km/h (99 mph) in a sector between Delhi and Agra.^[14]

In the mid-2010s, the Indian Railways sought request for qualifications to jointly manufacture five thousand electric multiple units sets with interested international and domestic parties.^[15] In 2015, Talgo conducted trial runs on the Delhi–Mumbai line, completing the journey in ten hours, almost six hours quicker than the existing fastest train and achieved an average speed of 117.5 km/h (73.0 mph).^[16][17] However, the deal never materialised due to concerns such as the adaptability of rolling stock, higher procurement and maintenance costs and robustness.^[18]

Vande Bharat trainset

After foreign proposals for the proposed semi-high-speed trains were unsuccessful, the government decided to develop the trainsets locally as a part of the Make in India campaign.^[19] A team led by Sudhanshu Mani worked on the development of the trainset at ICF. The prototypes were tested in 2018 and reached speeds of up to 183 km/h (114 mph) in trials.^[20] Christened as Train 18 initially, these trainsets were later renamed to Vande Bharat.^[21]

On 15 February 2019, the first Vande Bharat Express, plying between New Delhi and Varanasi, was flagged off at the New Delhi railway station by the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.^[22][23] The train covered a distance of 759 km (472 mi) in eight hours at an average speed of 95 km/h (59 mph) and reduced the existing travel time along the route by 15%.^[24] In October 2019, the second service was launched between New Delhi and Katra.^[25]

After the inauguration of the first two services, the Indian Railways temporarily halted the production of new train-sets owing to internal issues.^[26] In 2019, the production resumed after a lower cost revision was agreed for the upgrades required.^[27] The second generation trainsets entered service in September 2022.^[28] In December 2023, the Government announced a target to have 4,500 Vande Bharat trains by 2047.^[29] As the Vande Bharat trains operated faster services connecting cities, the trains were planned to eventually replace the existing Shatabdi and Rajdhani express trains.^[30][31]

The ICF was involved in the development a new version of the Vande Bharat trainset equipped with air-conditioned sleeper cars.^[30] The first prototype was rolled out by BEML in September 2024,^[32][33][34] and commercial services began in January 2026.^[35]