Indian Railways: ICF Chennai to manufacture 9 Vande Bharat trainsets in FY26 | EXCLUSIVE

Indian Railways , Vande Bharat Train , Vande Bharat Train Production: Indian Railways (IR) has fast-tracked the production of Vande Bharat trainsets in the country. Being manufactured by Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF), the indigenously developed train set has revolutionized rail travel in the country. It has not only reduced the travel time between two distances but also enhanced rail transportation in the country.

Since its inception on February 15, 2019, this ultra-modern train has been running with full occupancy. Vande Bharat Express is the fastest train in India followed by Shatabdi and Rajdhani Express.

The demand for Vande Bharat trainsets has been increasing on various routes. For this, the national transporter has been augmenting additional coaches to the existing Vande Bharat trains so that it would meet the rising demand. Since its introduction in 2019, the Vande Bharat trains have been running with full occupancy.

For the financial year 2025-26, the Chennai-based ICF has targeted to produce 11 Vande Bharat Chair Car versions. Speaking to ETNOW.in, a senior railway official has confirmed the development. “For FY26, we have targeted to manufacture 11 Vande Bharat Chair Car version,” the official said.

This fiscal year, ICF is producing Vande Bharat trainsets having three types of coach compositions. These are 8, 16, and 20 coach rakes. Till FY24, ICF produced only 8 cars and 16 car coaches.

Indian Railways (IR) has given a production program to manufacture 320 Vande Bharat train coaches to Kapurthala-based Rail Coach Factory (RCF). These new coaches will be of advanced version i.e. Vande Bharat Chair Car Version 2.0. The Vande Bharat train 2.0 has a maximum operational speed of 160 kmph and a top speed of 180 kmph. It will take 140 seconds to reach 160 kmph speed, compared to 145 seconds earlier.

Meanwhile, the ICF has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union Bank of India (UBI) to streamline salary disbursement aimed at enhancing employee welfare. In terms of the MoU, Union Bank of India has offered an exclusive Customized Salary Account Scheme for ICF employees with many benefits at no additional cost. This MoU is a part of ICF's broader vision to provide best-in-class employee services. The scheme is expected to cover 8500 employees in the coming months. With the signing of the MoU, employees of ICF banking through UBI will get additional benefits free of cost.