Indian Railways to Manufacture 1,500 Vande Bharat Chair Car Coaches, Phasing Out Shatabdi Trains

Chennai, Jan 6: The Indian Railways has reversed its earlier decision to halt the production of Vande Bharat chair cars after 120 train sets. The Railway Board has now approved the manufacture of 1,500 Vande Bharat chair car coaches  equivalent to 88 rakes  over the next four years (2026-27 to 2029-30), with 720 coaches to be produced at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai.

Replacement of Shatabdi Express Rakes
According to officials, all Shatabdi Express trains operating on intercity routes will gradually be replaced with Vande Bharat rakes. Of the 88 rakes planned, 68 will be 16-car train sets, while the remaining 20 will be 20-car configurations. The Vande Bharat chair car rakes are designed for a maximum speed of 160 kmph and are intended primarily for daytime intercity services.

As of December 2025, around 96 Vande Bharat chair car rakes have been manufactured by three coach production units  ICF, Rail Coach Factory (Kapurthala), and Modern Coach Factory (Raebareli). Currently, 82 of these rakes are in service, with a few kept as spares. Additional rakes have already been allotted to Southern Railway, Northern Railway, and other zones but are yet to become operational.

Production Plan for 2026-30
Under the new plan, ICF, RCF, and MCF will manufacture 720, 336, and 444 coaches respectively, totaling 1,500. In 2026-27, all units together will produce 23 rakes of 16-car train sets. In 2028-29, ICF will manufacture 20 rakes of 20-car sets, while MCF will build 12 rakes of 16-car sets. By 2029-30, 33 rakes of 16-car Vande Bharat train sets will be produced by all three units. Notably, there are no plans to build chair car rakes in 2027-28.

Policy Shift Highlights
ICF produced over 88 Vande Bharat train sets between 2018 and 2025. With a growing focus on the Vande Bharat sleeper variant, ICF was initially allocated only 11 chair car rakes for intercity services in 2025-26, while 20 additional sets were planned by other units. The Railway Board’s new policy ensures continued production of Vande Bharat chair cars, phasing out older Shatabdi Express rakes over the next four years.