Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has rejected media reports claiming that there is a delay in starting the manufacturing process of Vande Bharat sleeper trains due to design approval issues.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Vaishnav said that design was never an issue for the Russian company chosen to manufacture these trains.
Earlier, a section of the media, quoting officials of Russian company Transmashholding (TMH), had reported that Indian Railways has demanded toilets and pantry cars in the train, for which it has become necessary to make changes in the design of the train.
The company addressed the Railway Ministry’s concerns regarding the change in design and sent it to the ministry for approval, but the ministry is yet to give its consent, the report said. As per the contract, the company is to manufacture 1,920 sleeper coach coaches.