Vande Bharat maintenance hub in Sabarmati: The Ministry of Railways is developing a maintenance hub at Sabarmati in Ahmedabad at a cost of around Rs 307 crore to carry out major repairs of 24-coach Vande Bharat trainsets. The facility is being developed by Western Railway’s (WR)Ahmedabad Division as part of Phase II of the Sabarmati Integrated Coaching Depot (ICD).Once completed, the facility will allow several key maintenance activities at Sabarmati, reducing the need to send trainsets to other locations for work covered by the new facility.The project includes specialised sheds for heavy repairs, wheel maintenance, and servicing of key mechanical and electrical components. The project also provides modern machinery and technical equipment to improve the efficiency of maintenance operations. Vande Bharat trains to get Rs 307-crore maintenance hub in Sabarmati (Image: Ahmedabad Division)New facility to handle maintenance of 24-coach Vande Bharat trainsAccording to the national transporter, the Phase II development is designed to support scheduled SS-I (Shop Schedule) and SS-II maintenance of 24-coach Vande Bharat trainsets.According to the project plan, SS-I maintenance of one 24-coach trainset will take around 30 days, while SS-II maintenance will take approximately 45 days. Based on these timelines, the facility is designed to handle around 12 trainsets annually for SS-I maintenance or eight trainsets for SS-II maintenance.The new infrastructure will strengthen Sabarmati’s capacity to maintain modern trainsets by bringing several maintenance activities under one roof, the zonal railway said.Heavy repair bay to support major maintenance workConstruction of the Heavy Repair Bay Shed, measuring 322 m by 25 m and covering around 86,597 square feet, is nearing completion.Story continues below this adThe shed will have two maintenance lines. One will be equipped with synchronised pit jacks to lift coaches and facilitate the removal of bogies. The second line will be used for maintenance of coach interiors, passenger amenities, braking systems, and electrical equipment. These facilities will help railway staff carry out different repair and maintenance activities more systematically.Section sheds to service key train componentsSection sheds measuring 322 m by 20 m, with an area of around 69,334 square feet, are being developed to handle the dismantling, assembly and overhauling of major mechanical and electrical equipment.The facilities are planned to support maintenance of important components, including traction transformers, traction converters, traction motors, auxiliary converters, isolation transformers, pantographs and roof-mounted package units (RMPUs).Track work completed on 4 stabling linesThe project has also made progress in track infrastructure. Rail linking work covering around 2,547 metres across four stabling lines has been completed.Story continues below this ad“Work on both maintenance lines in the Heavy Repair Bay Shed is also almost complete. Meanwhile, construction of the Electrical Substation (ESS) building, measuring 30 metres × 20 metres and covering 6,458 square feet, has been completed and the building has been handed over,” the Ahmedabad Division said in a statement.