Indian Rail 40,000 conventional coaches will be upgraded to “Vande Bharat standards” in the coming years. National Transporter introduced for the first time Vande Bharat Premium train in 2019. Vande Bharat Express is a self-propelled semi-high speed train service that is being seen as the face of change for passenger travel on Indian Railways.
“Forty thousand general rail coaches will be converted to Vande Bharat standards to enhance safety, convenience and comfort of passengers,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Union Budget 2024 speech on February 1.

What does Vande Bharat Standard mean?

Vande Bharat Train In its present form all air-conditioned chair car services are available for short to medium distance travel. The sleeper version of Vande Bharat, which will be superior to Rajdhani Express trains, is expected to be operational by March this year.
So when FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced that 40,000 Indian Railways coaches Vande Bharat standards will be converted, what did they mean?
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According to Railway Minister Ashwini VaishnavThe upgrade of 40,000 coaches is based on the experience of Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat coaches. He has said that by learning from the experience of these trains, Indian Railways is working on how these 40,000 coaches can be upgraded.
Giving examples, Vaishnav said that both Amrit Bharat and Vande Bharat trains have semi-permanent couplers, which increases the safety of these trains. Similarly, these 40,000 coaches will have charging points for mobiles and laptops, automatic water measurement system, GPS, CCTV cameras etc.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has also clarified that this upgrade will not mean that non-AC coaches will be converted into air-conditioned coaches. For example, in case of non-AC coaches, toilets will be upgraded to better quality, seats will be improved etc.
It is clear from the Railway Minister’s statements that the national transporter will convert its existing conventional coaches to “Vande Bharat standards” by adding more passenger amenities and safety features, benefiting from the feedback and experience of passengers in Vande Bharat Express trains. An example of this can also be seen in the recently presented video Amrit Bharat Express The train, which is a push-pull train with a locomotive at each end for fast acceleration and deceleration. Amrit Bharat Express trains have been provided with several passenger amenities and safety features inspired by Vande Bharat trains – such as semi permanent couplers, sealed gangways, improved toilets, mobile charging points, better cushioned seats, ambient lighting etc.