New Delhi, Nov. 2 -- Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday visited BEML's manufacturing facility at its ADITYA unit in Bengaluru to review the progress of India's indigenous high-speed train, B28, with its prototype expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2027.
During the visit, Vaishnaw inspected the manufacturing processes and infrastructure being developed for the train, including precision jigs and fixtures used in carbody construction, underframes, sidewalls, roofs, assembly, painting and treatment.
He also reviewed the 'Squeeze Test', an important quality-control procedure in which the train carbody is subjected to compression and tension to assess its strength, stiffness and dimensional accuracy.
The minister examined the progress of side and roof modules, their assembly, passenger seating arrangements, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems (HVAC), couplers and other internal components. The eight-coach trainset will feature fully air-conditioned chair cars with reclining and rotating seats and facilities for passengers with limited mobility.
BEML is manufacturing two indigenous high-speed trainsets for the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, under a contract awarded in October 2024 worth around Rs 866.87 crore. The trains are designed for a maximum speed of 280 kmph but will initially operate at 250 kmph.
Following delivery, the prototype will be shifted to the Surat depot for testing and trials before operational clearance.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.