TMC MP Saket Gokhale alleges scam in cost of Vande Bharat sleeper trains

New Delhi: TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale alleged a scam in the cost of Vande Bharat sleeper trains on Wednesday, after the railways rejected as "misinformation" his claim that the cost of one train has gone up by 50 per cent.

In a post on X two days back, Gokhale alleged that the cost of one Vande Bharat sleeper train has gone up from Rs 290 crore to Rs 436 crore.

The railway ministry rejected the charge as "misinformation" and "fake news", and said it has increased the number of coaches in the sleeper trains from 16 to 24 while keeping the total number of coaches in the contract constant. The ministry attributed the decision to a "high demand for train travel".

Very important:

Nailing the LIES & SCAM of Modi Govt on Vande Bharat train cost

Two days ago, I pointed out how cost of 1 Vande Bharat sleeper train has gone up from ₹290 crores to ₹435 crores

Railways claimed it was "misinformation"

Here's how they're SCAMMING 👇

(1/5)

— Saket Gokhale MP (@SaketGokhale) September 18, 2024

In a series of posts on the social media platform on Wednesday, Gokhale refuted the railways' stand as "ridiculous" and claimed that contracts were awarded "per train" and not "per coach".

"Train costs involve more than just 'making coaches'," the MP added.

"Cost of a train is not just cost of all coaches. Contract of Rs 58,000 crores revised from 200 to just 133 trains. Cost per train gone up shockingly from Rs 290 crores to Rs 435 crores. Reel Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw should explain who this scam is benefiting," Gokhale said in another post.

He said the railways awarded a contract for 120 Vande Bharat sleeper trains to the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited and Russian firm Metrowagonmash, and another to Titagarh Wagon and BHEL for 80 trains.

As per the contract, a payment of Rs 26,000 crore had to be done on delivery of the trains, Gokhale said, adding that Rs 32,000 crore was allocated as maintenance cost, taking the manufacturing cost to Rs 130 crore per train and the cost for maintenance Rs 160 crore per train.

The MP alleged that the contract was changed last week, the number of coaches was increased from 16 to 24 and the number of trains was reduced from 200 to 133.

He added that the manufacturing cost per train is now Rs 195 crore and the new maintenance cost will be Rs 240 crore per train.

The Ministry of Railways responded to Gokhale's allegation on September 16, terming it "misinformation".

"Cost per coach multiplied by number of coaches equals the cost of train. In sleeper project, cost per coach is lower than all benchmarks because of the transparency in process," it said.

"We have increased the number of coaches from 16 to 24 to make longer trains, keeping the total number of coaches in contract constant," the ministry said.

It added that earlier, the contract was for 200 trains with 16 coaches each, making it a total of 3,200 coaches. The revised numbers stand at 133 trains with 24 coaches each, making it a total of 3,192 coaches, the ministry said.

"The total contract value has actually reduced because there are economies when train length is increased. We are making record number of non-AC coaches (12,000) looking at the high demand for railway travel," it said.