The interiors of the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express made at BFG India’s manufacturing plant in Sri City of Tirupati district.
The interiors, modular toilet cabins and aerodynamic front ends of the 16-coach Vande Bharat Sleeper Express trains now carry the ‘Made in Sri City’ tag.
BFG India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bahrain-based BFG International, is making the train cabins at its manufacturing plant in Sri City, established in 2009 to deliver world-class Fibre-Reinforced Plastic (FRP) solutions. The company has been supplying lightweight, durable and fire-resistant FRP products to the rail, marine, wind energy and infrastructure sectors.
The aerodynamic front-end of Vande Bharat Sleeper Express made at BFG India’s manufacturing plant in Sri City of Tirupati district.
Stepping into a new domain recently, BFG India started the ambitious project of designing, manufacturing and installing interiors, modular toilet cabins and aerodynamic front ends for the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express.
The train features 823 berths and 51 toilets, including accessible cabins. BFG is the first to supply EN45545 HL3-compliant FRP panels in India and has delivered advanced front-ends to ensure high fire safety and structural integrity. “The Vande Bharat sleeper project revolutionises railway infrastructure with world-class, lightweight and durable solutions. We are proud to be part of it,” said BFG India vice president K. Premamoorthy.
It may be recalled that the company had supplied interiors, toilet cabins and front ends for the inaugural Vande Bharat Express in a record 10 months, fabricating 329 types of FRP panels in various colours to match design specifications.
Metro projects too
The company has also played a key role in India’s metro rail projects by making driver cabins, ceilings, sidewalls and partitions for Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Lucknow and Kochi Metro. The company provided components like passenger seats, driver consoles and aerodynamic masks for the Mumbai Monorail Project along with Medha Bogies Private Limited.
Ferry-based transport
Apart from rail projects, the company also contributed to Kochi Water Metro, considered India’s first ferry-based urban transport system. The 25-metre long, 6.5 metre-wide catamaran ferry superstructures were made at Sri City facility using vacuum infusion technology. Each with a carrying capacity of 100 passengers, they were assembled at the Cochin Shipyard.
“It is heartening to see ‘Made @ Sri City’ products used across multiple sectors, including railways and marine transport,” said Sri City founder and managing director Ravindra Sannareddy.
Published – April 15, 2025 03:15 pm IST