Design of India's first indigenous bullet train ready, prototype likely early next year: Vaishnaw

The design of India's first indigenously developed bullet train is complete and manufacturing is moving quickly, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday. He was speaking after reviewing the high-speed trainset at the BEML facility in Bengaluru.

The train, called B28, is being built by a BEML-led consortium with the Integral Coach Factory. It is meant for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed corridor and future lines. Vaishnaw said the first prototype could roll out early next year.

Testing for high speeds

During the visit, the minister watched a squeeze test on the train's body structure. He described it as the first bullet train India has designed to international standards. At speeds of about 280 to 350 km/h, air pressure around the coaches changes sharply. Engineers are therefore testing the welding, materials and systems to make sure the coaches do not deform under that stress.

Vaishnaw said the propulsion, electronics and bogies are being made to global standards and that every component is going through safety and performance checks. He said he was confident the trainset would meet international benchmarks. The B28 has a design speed of 280 km/h, and a later version, B35, is planned for 350 km/h. Track trials of the B28 are expected by mid-2027.

Wider push for local manufacturing

The railways say that several parts of the high-speed network are now made in India, including electrification items such as transformers, mast cross arms and feeder wires. Indian engineers are also producing, at local casting yards, a ballastless track system based on Japanese technology.

The first commercial bullet train service on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad line is scheduled for 2027, starting with the Surat-Vapi section. Other sections will open in phases. The Union Budget for 2026-27 also proposed seven more high-speed corridors covering nearly 4,000 km, including Mumbai-Pune, Chennai-Bengaluru and Delhi-Varanasi.

Why it matters

A home-built trainset could cut India's reliance on imported high-speed rolling stock and lower long-term costs. That would matter as more corridors move from proposals to construction. For passengers, the real test will be whether the 2027 timeline for the first service holds.