The Sabarmati Vande Bharat maintenance hub in Ahmedabad is being developed as a ₹307-crore facility that will allow Western Railway to carry out major maintenance of 24-coach Vande Bharat trainsets locally, reducing the need to send them to other cities or states.
The project is being implemented under Phase 2 of the Sabarmati Integrated Coaching Depot by the Ahmedabad division of Western Railway. Once operational, the hub is planned to undertake two scheduled maintenance programmes for Vande Bharat trainsets: Soft Schedule-1, or SS-I, and Soft Schedule-2, or SS-II.
According to the report, SS-I maintenance for one 24-coach trainset is expected to take about 30 days, while SS-II maintenance is expected to take about 45 days. Based on this capacity, the facility is planned to handle approximately 12 rakes annually for SS-I maintenance or eight rakes for SS-II maintenance.
The planned complex includes a heavy repair shed, a wheel care shed, multiple section sheds, a tandem wheel lathe shed, a drop pit and retractable overhead equipment. Several major structures have either been completed or are nearing completion, while other parts of the project remain under construction.
The wheel care shed, measuring 75 metres by 40 metres, has been completed. It will support wheel and axle overhauling, resurfacing and turning. The equipment planned for the shed includes a CNC surface wheel lathe, CNC axle-turning lathe, dynamic wheel-balancing machine and hydraulic wheel press.
The heavy repair shed is about 322 metres long and 25 metres wide, with two maintenance lines. One line will use synchronised pit jacks to lift coaches and remove their bogies. The second line will be used for work on coach interiors, passenger facilities, braking systems and other electrical equipment.
A separate section shed, measuring 322 metres by 20 metres, is being developed for the dismantling, repair and reassembly of key train systems. These include traction transformers, traction converters, traction motors, auxiliary converters, pantographs and roof-mounted package units.
The project also includes supporting rail and electrical infrastructure. Work on four stabling lines, involving a total of 2,547 metres of rail linking, has been completed. Construction of a 30-metre-by-20-metre electrical sub-station building has also been completed, according to the report.
The facility is intended to strengthen the maintenance base for Vande Bharat trainsets in western India by bringing heavy repair, wheel care, technical equipment servicing and scheduled overhauls into one integrated railway complex. The source report did not specify the final commissioning date or the date on which the first trainset will enter the new facility for scheduled maintenance.
