Efforts to increase speed In 1960, the
Indian Railway Board commissioned a study to increase the speed of its trains, which was restricted to on the existent
broad gauge lines. The
Research Design and Standards Organisation was tasked with achieving a target speed of and an intermediate target of for passenger trains.
Rajdhani Express trains, capable of reaching speeds of up to , were introduced in 1969. The
Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at
Madras manufactured the coaches, which were hauled by
diesel locomotives. With the introduction of
WAP-1 electric locomotives,
Shatabdi Express trains, introduced in 1988, were capable of running at a maximum speed of . From the late 1990s, the
ICF coaches were began to be replaced by the safer
LHB coaches designed by
Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany. train at
New Delhi railway station during trials in 2016 In December 2009, the
Ministry of Railways of the
Government of India envisaged the implementation of high-speed rail projects to provide passenger services at through the upgradation of existing tracks, construction of new lines and introduction of high speed trainsets. In the 2014
railway budget, a proposal was made to introduce semi-high-speed services between major cities.
Gatimaan Express, introduced in 2016, achieved speeds of in a sector between
Delhi and
Agra. In the mid-2010s, the
Indian Railways sought
request for qualifications to jointly manufacture five thousand electric multiple units sets with interested international and domestic parties. In 2015,
Talgo conducted trial runs on the
DelhiMumbai line, completing the journey in ten hours, almost six hours quicker than the existing fastest train and achieved an average speed of . However, the deal never materialised due to concerns such as the adaptability of
rolling stock, higher procurement and maintenance costs and robustness.
Vande Bharat trainset After foreign proposals for the proposed semi-high-speed trains were unsuccessful, the government decided to develop the trainsets locally as a part of the
Make in India campaign. A team led by
Sudhanshu Mani worked on the development of the trainset at ICF. The prototypes were tested in 2018 and reached speeds of up to in trials. Christened as Train 18 initially, these trainsets were later renamed to
Vande Bharat. to
Varanasi by the
prime minister on 15 February 2019 On 15 February 2019, the
first Vande Bharat Express, plying between
New Delhi and
Varanasi, was flagged off at the
New Delhi railway station by the
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. The train covered a distance of in eight hours at an average speed of and reduced the existing travel time along the route by 15%. In October 2019, the
second service was launched between New Delhi and
Katra. After the inauguration of the first two services, the Indian Railways temporarily halted the production of new train-sets owing to internal issues. In 2019, the production resumed after a lower cost revision was agreed for the upgrades required. The second generation trainsets entered service in September 2022. In December 2023, the Government announced a target to have 4,500 Vande Bharat trains by 2047. As the Vande Bharat trains operated faster services connecting cities, the trains were planned to eventually replace the existing Shatabdi and Rajdhani express trains. The ICF was involved in the development a
new version of the Vande Bharat trainset equipped with air-conditioned
sleeper cars. The first prototype was rolled out by
BEML in September 2024, and commercial services began in January 2026. == Rolling stock ==