The Golden Rock Railway Workshop at Ponmalai in Tiruchi is carrying out maintenance and overhauling of the third rake of the semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express coaches.

The British-built workshop, more than 90 years old, received a few days ago the third rake comprising eight modern AC coaches of the Vande Bharat (VB) Express, which was running on the Coimbatore-Bengaluru Cantonment section before being sent for maintenance.

The rake will undergo Shop Schedule -II maintenance, which is done after three years. A team of about 120 technical personnel are involved in the SS-II maintenance of the coaches, workshop authorities said. 

The Railway Board, New Delhi, had nominated the Golden Rock Railway Workshop in May last year to undertake major schedules of the Vande Bharat Express coaches being operated on different railway sections.  The first rake of 16 coaches operated on Chennai-Mysuru line underwent similar maintenance at the workshop in January this year. 

The second rake consisting of 16 VB coaches operated on Madurai-Bengaluru line underwent Shop Schedule -I maintenance in March. The SS-I maintenance is done after 18 months. The maintenance work of the third rake of VB coaches has begun and the plan is to despatch them in June third week, the authorities said. 

As part of the SS-II maintenance, the present set of coaches would be subjected to thorough and meticulous examination by the workshop’s technical personnel. Overhauling of the bogies, pantographs, and undergears would be carried out as part of the maintenance work. Also, the braking systems would be closely examined and replacement of the flooring would be done. 

The broken and foggy window glasses would be replaced and the damaged seats wherever found would be replaced. A fresh coat of painting would be given in the interior and exterior portions of the coaches to make them look swanky again, the authorities said. A number of tools and other items have been procured by the workshop for the maintenance of the VB coaches.

In the Southern Railway zone, Vande Bharat trains are operated on the Chennai Egmore-Tirunelveli; Chennai Egmore-Nagercoil; Madurai-Bengaluru; Chennai Central-Mysuru and Coimbatore-Bengaluru Cantonment lines.