The Kazipet Rail Manufacturing Unit in Telangana is nearing completion and will begin manufacturing intercity trains for Indian Railways, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said today (28 May) after reviewing plans to operationalise the facility.
Vaishnaw and Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu reviewed the project with senior railway officials.
The Ministry of Railways said the Kazipet facility is being developed as a versatile rolling stock manufacturing unit.
The unit will initially manufacture 200 intercity trains over the next 5 years.
These trains will be deployed across the country for short-distance travel and are expected to serve routes of around 300 Km, with frequent stops between towns and cities.
According to the ministry, the trains are being planned for passengers who commute between nearby towns for education, healthcare, work and other daily needs.
The service model is expected to work like a shuttle network connecting adjacent towns across India.
The Railways has said the new trains will offer an affordable option for intercity travel.
With a large fleet of such trains entering service, the ministry expects a significant share of local passenger traffic to move from roads to rail.
The intercity trains will have a 20-coach configuration and will be equipped with automatic door closing, superior ventilation and safe coach design. Each coach will have 2 toilets, one at each end.
The trains will also feature modern jerk-free couplers and bogies. They will be designed to run at a speed of 130 Kmph.
The ministry said the trains will use regenerative braking, under which electricity is generated during braking and fed back into the grid.
This system is expected to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions compared with road transport.
The Kazipet unit is expected to add manufacturing capacity for a new class of short-distance intercity trains while supporting Indian Railways’ plan to expand affordable and cleaner passenger transport between towns and cities.
