Indian Railways to produce 1,500 Vande Bharat Chair Car Coaches to replace Shatabdi Trains

New Delhi, India (Metro Rail Today): In a significant policy reversal, Indian Railways has withdrawn its earlier plan to halt production of Vande Bharat chair car trains after 120 rakes. The Railway Board has now approved the manufacture of 1,500 Vande Bharat chair car coaches — equivalent to 88 complete trainsets — to be built between 2026-27 and 2029-30.

Of these, 720 coaches will be manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, while the remaining will be shared by Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, and Modern Coach Factory (MCF), Raebareli.

Shatabdi Express rakes to be phased out

According to railway officials, the fresh production plan is closely linked with a strategic fleet upgrade. All Shatabdi Express trains running on intercity routes will gradually be replaced by Vande Bharat chair car rakes. Production of Shatabdi rakes had already been discontinued.

Under the new build plan:

• 68 trainsets will be 16-coach formations

• 20 trainsets will be 20-coach formations

Production breakup across coach factories

Under the revised order issued on 2 January 2026 by the Railway Board:

• ICF, Chennai: 720 coaches

• RCF, Kapurthala: 336 coaches

• MCF, Raebareli: 444 coaches

• Total: 1,500 Vande Bharat chair car coaches

Production schedule highlights include:

• 2026-27: 23 rakes of 16-coach trains across units

• 2027-28: No new chair car rakes planned

• 2028-29: ICF to build 20 rakes of 20-coach trains; MCF to build 12 rakes of 16-coach trains

• 2029-30: 33 rakes of 16-coach trains to be produced jointly

Existing Vande Bharat fleet status

As of December 2025:

• Around 96 Vande Bharat chair car rakes had been manufactured

• 82 trainsets are currently in service across Indian Railways

• Some rakes remain as spare rakes or allotted but not yet commissioned

• Production units: ICF, RCF and MCF

The Vande Bharat chair car version is designed for 160 kmph maximum speed and is intended primarily for daytime intercity operations.

Focus shifts back from sleeper variant

ICF had earlier produced over 88 Vande Bharat trainsets between 2018 and 2025. However, with increasing focus on Vande Bharat sleeper variants for overnight journeys, only 11 chair car rakes were allocated for 2025-26, raising speculation that production would cease entirely thereafter.

A senior railway official confirmed that this view has now changed:

“A policy decision has now been taken to continue manufacturing Vande Bharat chair car coaches. These rakes will progressively replace the ageing Shatabdi Express fleet over the next four years.”

Commenting on the development, Mrs. Mamta Shah, MD & CEO, Urban Infra Group, said:

“The renewed push for Vande Bharat chair car production marks a decisive move toward upgrading India’s intercity rail experience. Replacing the Shatabdi fleet with faster, energy-efficient trainsets will significantly improve passenger comfort and operational reliability.”

The decision aligns with the Railways’ broader objective to create a standardised Vande Bharat ecosystem covering chair car, sleeper and future high-speed variants.