New Delhi: The Kapurthala Rail Coach Factory, a premier production unit of the Railways, has failed to deliver any Vande Bharat train in 2022-23.
The coach factory blamed the spike in the prices of raw material, and the subsequent shortfall in the supply of electrical components, for the failure to deliver the target of 32 Vande Bharat trains in 2022-23, PTI reported, citing documents.
Apart from failing to deliver its target to produce Vande Bharat trains, the factory also failed to produce all kinds of coaches, the report said.
The factory manufactured 1,478 coaches against a target of 1,885 at the end of financial year 2022-23, according to a document accessed by PTI.
It fell short of its target for 3HP MEMU trains. It manufactured 153 such trains till March 2023, against a target of 256. It manufactured 1,325 LHB coaches, against a target of 1,520.
Also read: Vande Bharat Express: What’s in a Name?
Officials told the news agency that the production of Vande Bharat trains in the factory is likely to begin by September 2024.
For 2023-24, the Railway Board has given RCF Kapurthala a target of 64 Vande Bharat Express trains.
A senior ministry official told PTI that RCF has not yet approved the design for the Vande Bharat trains. The trains are designed by French multinational rolling stock manufacturer, Alstom.
Out of 92 designs, only four have been approved.
The rail factory, however, said the production rate was affected by a spike in prices of raw materials which led to shortfall in supply of trade items such as berths, 60 KVA transformers, switch board cabinets, and shell components/sub-assemblies.
“There was serious shortage of wheel supply from May to September 2022 leading to loss of production. Production of 87 coaches was lost on this account. The delay in supply of electrics by BHEL resulted in production loss of MEMU rakes. VB Trainset Coaches delayed as RCF did not get electrics from M/s Medha,” the documents said.
At present, 15 Vande Bharat Express trains connect different cities in the country. These are India’s first semi-high speed trains equipped with world class passenger amenities. It can achieve high speeds due to faster acceleration and deceleration and will reduce journey time by 25% to 45%.