Give loan to make Vande Bharat Express…Rs 500 crore sought from PNB, the owner of company is…, name is…

Kinet Rail Solutions is planning to start production of Vande Bharat trains at its Latur facility in Maharashtra from next year and for this, it is seeking the loan from PNB.

Loan for Vande Bharat Express: In a new turn of developments that has shocked the world, Kinet Rail Solutions, the Indo-Russian joint venture responsible for manufacturing Vande Bharat sleeper trainsets, has approached Punjab National Bank (PNB) for a working capital loan of Rs 450–500 crore. For background information, Kinet is a joint venture between India’s Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) with a 25 per cent stake, and Russian partners Metrowagonmash (70 per cent) and Locomotive Electronic Systems (5 per cent). Here are all the details you need to know about the recent update.

As per a report by The Hindu Businessline, Kinet Rail Solutions is planning to start production of Vande Bharat trains at its Latur facility in Maharashtra from next year and for this, it is seeking the loan from PNB. For those unversed, Kinet Rail Solutions won a contract to build 120 Vande Bharat trains in the year 2023.

Notably, the report added that the discussions with PNB regarding the loan began earlier this year to support working capital which the company would need during the initial phase of the project. Moreover, this loan is intended as a bridge arrangement until funding support is cleared by the Railways or RVNL

200 new Vande Bharat trains, 100 Amrit Bharat trains in next 2-3 years

Calling the Union Budget 2025-26 “amazing”, Union Railways and Electronics and IT Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw had said in February that with the big allocation to it, Indian Railways is all set to expand faster, safer and comfortable rail travel across the country.

The country can expect “200 new Vande Bharat trains, 100 Amrit Bharat trains, 50 Namo Bharat rapid rail and 17,500 general non-AC coaches in next two to three-years time”, the minister said.

Vaishnaw thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for allocating Rs 2,52,000 crore for the financial year (FY) 2025-26 as gross budgetary support to the Ministry of Railways – the second time in a row.

(With inputs from agencies)