Overview
- RVNL chairman Saleem Ahmad told shareholders at the company AGM that manufacturing has begun at the upgraded Marathwada (Latur) rail coach factory and the first Vande Bharat sleeper prototype is expected during the current financial year.
- The trains will be built by Kinet Railway Solutions Ltd, an Indo‑Russian joint venture between RVNL and Transmashholding, which is contracted to make 120 trainsets of 16 coaches each.
- RVNL has formally moved the prototype deadline from the earlier June 2026 target to March 31 of the next financial year, reflecting a slip in the original schedule.
- The company said the factory features modern assembly and testing shops and that prototype completion will be followed by trials and safety clearances before mass production begins.
- RVNL framed the project as part of a strategic shift from pure infrastructure delivery toward rolling stock, national telecoms work and competitively won projects, while reporting recent FY2025–26 deliveries and progress on Kazipet and Vadodara POH workshops due for commissioning this year.