Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL), in collaboration with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), on Friday inaugurated a dedicated production line for Vande Bharat Sleeper trains at its manufacturing facility in Uttarpara, West Bengal.

The facility, set up under the consortium of TRSL and BHEL, follows a Rs 24,000 crore contract awarded by Indian Railways for the design, manufacturing, and 35-year maintenance of 80 Vande Bharat Sleeper train sets.

Senior officials from both companies, including vice chairman and managing director of TRSL Umesh Chowdhary and Director at BHEL, Bani Varma were present at the inauguration.

The Vande Bharat sleeper trains will be India's first long-distance, semi-high-speed trains in a sleeper coach configuration. They are being designed to offer enhanced passenger comfort, indigenous technology, modern layouts, smart onboard systems, and improved safety features.

Production at the Uttarpara unit is now underway, with the first prototype expected to roll out in the next calendar year. The facility features Industry 4.0 capabilities and robotic production lines and is the only site in the country capable of manufacturing both stainless steel and aluminium coaches under one roof.

With an existing annual capacity of 300 coaches, the Uttarpara plant is being scaled up to 850 coaches to meet growing demand, Chowdhary said.

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