India to start exporting Vande Bharat trains within 4 years
What's the story
India is gearing up to export its homegrown Vande Bharat trains in the next three to four years, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Sunday. The announcement was made during the launch of the first Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper Express. Vaishnaw said Indian Railways is constantly improving these indigenously developed trainsets with every new version.
Export plans
Components already exported to several countries
Vaishnaw emphasized that with each new version of the Vande Bharat train, improvements are made based on lessons learned from previous iterations.
He also revealed that complex railway components like propulsion systems and bogies have already been exported to countries such as Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, and the US.
The planned exports will take India's existing overseas supply of railway equipment to complete Vande Bharat trainsets.
Manufacturing success
Exports of railway rolling stock and components
In March 2026, the Railway Ministry told Parliament that between 2016-17 and January 2026, exports of Indian railway rolling stock and components totaled around ₹26,000 crore.
The ministry said domestic manufacturers are making locomotives, passenger coaches, traction motors, propulsion systems among other railway equipment for global markets.
Separately, Vaishnaw had told Parliament in February that Indian Railways plans to manufacture 260 Vande Bharat Sleeper trainsets with BEML, Chennai's Integral Coach Factory and technology partners.
Service launch
Bengaluru-Mumbai service cuts travel time by nearly 8 hours
The Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper Express will cover some 1,118km in about 16 hours.
The service will cut travel time by nearly eight hours compared to existing trains on the route.
The fully air-conditioned train has 823 berths across First AC, AC Two-Tier and AC Three-Tier categories.
Regular operations begin from November 2 from Mumbai and November 3 from Bengaluru.
Expansion strategy
Plans for more Vande Bharat services from Bengaluru
The Bengaluru-Mumbai service is India's third Vande Bharat Sleeper route after Howrah-Kamakhya and Varanasi-New Delhi.
Vaishnaw also announced plans for another sleeper service from Bengaluru to North Karnataka toward Hubballi and then to Pune and Mumbai.
He said Vande Bharat services between Bengaluru and Mangaluru are likely to start in a few weeks, subject to electrification and testing completion.