The Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, in collaboration with BEML, is designing and manufacturing high-speed train sets that will have a design speed of 280 kmph, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Parliament on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw said following the success of Vande Bharat trains under the "Make in India" initiative, the Indian Railways (IR) has now taken up designing and manufacturing of high-speed train sets.

"The manufacturing cost is approximately Rs 28 crore per car (excluding taxes), which is highly competitive compared with other train sets," he said, replying to questions raised by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs Sudhir Gupta and Ananta Nayak.  "The design and manufacturing of high-speed train sets is a complex and technology-intensive process," the minister added.

He also highlighted the major technical aspects, such as the design and manufacturing of the aerodynamic, airtight car body, design and manufacturing of electrics including propulsion for high-speed application, weight optimisation of the train sets and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) of the trains.

"The train sets will have chair cars with best-in-class features, such as aerodynamic exteriors, sealed gangways, automatic doors, optimum climatic conditions inside compartments for passenger comfort, CCTV, mobile-charging facilities, optimum lighting, fire safety equipment etc.," Vaishnaw said.

He added that the completion of the project can be reasonably ascertained after the finalisation of the detailed design.

The minister also provided an update on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project, under execution with technical and financial assistance from Japan, and said so far, 336 km of pier foundation, 331 km of pier construction, 260 km of girder casting and 225 km of girder launching have been completed.  "The work of the undersea tunnel (approximately 21 km) has also started," he added.

The 508-km-long MAHSR project will have 12 stations planned at Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati and the entire land (1,389.5 Ha) required for it has been acquired, the railway minister said.