Tata Steel to roll out ‘First in India’ seating system

RANCHI: Tata Group is planning to spend Rs 3,000 crore on R&D by FY26 and set to roll out the ‘First in India’ seating system for Vande Bharat Express trains from September 2022, a top official has said.

Tata Steel’s Composites division bagged a Rs 145 crore bulk order for seating systems of the Vande Bharat express that includes the supply of complete seating systems for 22 train sets, with 16 coaches in each train set.

“These are specially designed seats, which can rotate 180 degrees and have aircraft-style passenger amenities. This is first-in-India’ kind of a supply, which will be executed over 12 months starting September 2022,” said Debashish Bhattacharjee, VP, Technology & New Materials Business, Tata Steel.

“Composites industry in India is dominated by institutional businesses and is largely dependent on infrastructure, industrial and railway sectors. One of the key initiatives of the composites business was to convert to Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) applications where steel is currently being used. Railways has been a promising customer for the FRP Composites business of Tata Steel.”

The FRP used in the seats will have higher corrosion resistance and lower maintenance cost. Moreover, it will be conforming to the European standard of fire-retardant property, and will offer improved safety and comfort to passengers.

Vande Bharat Express, also known as Train 18, is the second fastest train in India, which operates at a speed of 130 km/hr.