At least 120 advanced Vande Bharat trains will be manufactured at Marathwada Railway coach factory in Latur, and efforts are on to begin production by August, Union Minister Raosaheb Danve said.
The tendering process for coach manufacturing is in the final stages and the contract will be finalised soon, the Union minister of state for Railways said after inspecting the factory.
Speaking to reporters, Danve said the Centre has sanctioned Rs 600 crore to set up the coach factory in Latur and efforts are on to begin operations at the facility at the earliest.
The contract process is underway with a consortium of Russia and Indian Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), he said, adding that the actual coach production is expected to start by August.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced plans to launch 400 new Vande Bharat trains in the country, and of these, 120 will be manufactured in Latur. If required, another 80 trains will also be made in this factory, the minister said.
Central and state governments have been taking efforts for dualling, electrification, new railway lines and pending railway projects in the state. The work on Wardha-Yavatmal-Nanded and Ahmednagar-Beed-Parli Vaijnath railway lines is underway, Danve said.
The first stage of dualling of Manmad-Nanded line will get an approval soon, while the new Solapur-Tuljapur railway has already received a nod, he said.