RITES To Undertake Safety Evaluation Of Vande Bharat Sleeper Trains

Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES), a leading railway PSU, together with ItalCertifer, an Italian State Railways Group company, has secured a contract to conduct independent safety assessments (ISAs) for the Vande Bharat sleeper trains.

According to a statement from RITES, the contract has been awarded by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) Chennai, a production unit under the Ministry of Railways.

The consortium's responsibilities encompass design evaluations, final safety acceptance assessments, and the scrutiny of test outcomes.

With this contract, RITES, the only ISA-certified central public sector enterprise, has ventured into a new business stream and it said it is committed to advancing ISA works by leveraging its expertise in the quality assurance segment.

As a Navratna PSU, RITES has long been a key player in India's transport consultancy and engineering landscape, boasting a diverse array of services and a wide geographical footprint. With almost five decades of experience, the company has executed projects in over 55 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America, South America, and the Middle East.

The Vande Bharat sleeper variant will feature a total of 16 air-conditioned compartments, including one first-class, four second-class, and 11 three-tier coaches, with a combined capacity to accommodate 830 passengers.

The first Vande Bharat sleeper train could be ready to hit the tracks in the next six months, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said in March this year.