The Sabarmati Vande Bharat maintenance hub is being developed by Western Railway at a cost of ₹307 crore, with its heavy repair bay shed nearing completion and the wheel care shed already built.
The project is being undertaken by the Ahmedabad Division of Western Railway as Phase II of the Integrated Coaching Depot (ICD) at Sabarmati in Gujarat. It aims to provide specialised infrastructure for scheduled maintenance of modern trainsets, reducing the need to send them to other locations for major repairs.
The facility is designed to handle scheduled soft schedule (SS-I and SS-II) maintenance of 24-coach Vande Bharat trainsets.
Sabarmati Vande Bharat maintenance hub to service 24-coach trains
According to the project’s planned capacity, SS-I maintenance of a 24-coach rake can be completed in around 30 days, while SS-II maintenance is expected to take approximately 45 days.
The depot is designed to undertake SS-I maintenance of about 12 rakes or SS-II maintenance of eight rakes annually.
The project includes a heavy repair bay shed, section sheds, a wheel care shed, a tandem wheel lathe shed, a drop pit, retractable overhead equipment (OHE), machinery and plant installations, and associated infrastructure.
Construction and equipment installation are progressing in stages, with several major structures completed.
Heavy repair bay shed nears completion
The heavy repair bay shed measures 322 metres by 25 metres and covers 86,597 square feet. It is almost complete and will have two maintenance lines.
One line will feature synchronised pit jacks to lift coaches and remove bogies. The second will support maintenance of coach interiors, passenger amenities, braking systems and electrical equipment.
The section sheds, measuring 322 metres by 20 metres and covering 69,334 square feet, are being developed for dismantling, assembly and overhauling major mechanical and electrical equipment.
These operations will cover traction transformers, traction converters, traction motors, auxiliary converters, isolation transformers, pantographs and roof-mounted package units.
Wheel care shed completed at Sabarmati depot
Construction of the wheel care shed has been completed. Measuring 75 metres by 40 metres and covering 32,292 square feet, the shed and its associated service building are ready for handover.
The facility will handle wheel and axle overhauling, resurfacing and turning. Planned equipment includes a computer numerical control (CNC) surface wheel lathe, a CNC axle turning lathe, a dynamic wheel balancing machine and a hydraulic wheel press.
Track infrastructure work has also advanced. Rail linking has been completed across approximately 2,547 metres of four stabling lines, while work on both maintenance lines in the heavy repair bay shed is nearly complete.
The electrical substation building, measuring 30 metres by 20 metres and covering 6,458 square feet, has also been completed and handed over. It will meet the depot’s electrical requirements.
Once operational, the integrated facility is expected to strengthen Western Railway’s capacity to maintain modern trainsets at a single complex, with dedicated infrastructure for coach repairs, electrical equipment and wheel maintenance.
