By Rupesh Samant
Jodhpur (Rajasthan): At the edge of the golden desert in Jodhpur, a futuristic railway facility is quietly taking shape — one that will soon play a key role in India’s next leap in high-speed travel. By next year, the North Western Railway will unveil the country’s first-ever Vande Bharat sleeper coach maintenance depot, a state-of-the-art hub designed to service the new generation of luxury sleeper trains.
The sprawling facility, coming up at Bhagat Ki Kothi Railway Station, is being built at a cost of Rs 360 crore. Behind its gleaming infrastructure lies an ambitious goal — to make Jodhpur the nerve centre for maintaining the advanced Vande Bharat sleeper coaches that are set to redefine long-distance train travel in India.
“This will be the first dedicated facility in the country exclusively meant for the Vande Bharat sleeper trains,” said Major Amit Swamy, Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer of the North Western Railway. “It will ensure precision maintenance, high safety standards, and seamless operations for these technologically advanced coaches.”
The project will be developed in two phases. The first phase, costing Rs 167 crore, includes a 600-metre track capable of handling 24 sleeper coaches and is expected to be ready by June 2026. The second phase, valued at Rs 195 crore, will add a 178-metre track, a modern workshop, and a simulator facility for training and testing, to be completed by June 2027.
Swamy explained that the facility will feature a three-tier inspection system and the capacity to maintain three trains simultaneously. Equipped with advanced machinery such as bogie drop tables, wheel-turning systems, and lifting mechanisms for entire rakes, the depot will ensure that maintenance work never disrupts operations.
Adding to its sophistication, the centre will house a dedicated wheel rack system and a specialised testing laboratoryequipped with state-of-the-art simulators. These simulators will help engineers and technicians train on the latest technology while testing and evaluating high-tech components of the trains.
“Indian Railways is investing not just in infrastructure but in expertise,” Swamy noted. “This facility represents our focus on performance, precision, and safety.”
The Jodhpur maintenance depot is being built by the North Western Railway, with Railway Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and Kinet Railway Solutions — a Russia–India joint venture — serving as technology partners. Once operational, it will be able to service eight to nine Vande Bharat trains every day.
The Vande Bharat sleeper trains, designed for overnight journeys, will undergo maintenance after every 3,500 kilometres of travel or four days of operation at one of the upcoming depots. Similar facilities are also being planned in Delhi (Bijwasan and Anand Vihar), Bengaluru (Thanisandra), and Mumbai (Wadi Bandar).
For Jodhpur, a city known for its royal heritage and engineering prowess, the project marks a new chapter — transforming it from a historic rail hub into a national centre of excellence for high-speed train maintenance.
“This is more than just a workshop,” said Swamy. “It’s a symbol of how far Indian Railways has come — blending innovation, technology, and Make-in-India vision to create world-class infrastructure right here in Jodhpur.”
