By Ashoke Raj
New Delhi [India], April 28 (ANI): The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Railway Ministry are in talks with the Ukraine-based wheel manufacturer and the Embassy of Romania to expedite the delivery process of Vande Bharat Train wheels for a trial run.
Addressing a weekly briefing on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi confirmed that some components (wheels) are stuck in war-torn Ukraine and talks are underway to expedite the delivery.
“Some components of ‘Vande Bharat’ (train) are made in Ukraine but due to the ongoing conflict, the delivery schedule has been impacted. We are looking for options for timely delivery. Railway ministry will give exact details of components’ delivery,” Bagchi said.
According to sources, a consignment of 128 wheels for the Vande Bharat train has reached Romania by road from war-torn Ukraine, which will now be brought to India soon.
When asked to airlift those wheels in the coming day, the MEA spokesperson said: “We are working on how will take this component delivered.”
As per the sources, thousands of wheels were ordered for the Vande Bharat train to a Ukrainian firm whose work has been affected by the war.
To meet its target of launching 75 Vande Bharat “semi-high speed trains” on major routes across the country by the end of this year.
Furthermore, sources said that the earlier plan to ship the wheels from the Ukrainian port to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Maharashtra got stuck due to the war. (ANI)