Western Railway is developing a Rs. 3.07 bn maintenance hub at Sabarmati in Ahmedabad for scheduled and major repairs of 24-coach Vande Bharat trainsets. The project is being executed by the Ahmedabad Division under Phase 2 of the Sabarmati Integrated Coaching Depot.

The facility will bring several maintenance activities together at one location, reducing the need to send trainsets elsewhere for work covered by the new infrastructure. It will include specialised sheds for heavy repairs, wheel maintenance and servicing of mechanical and electrical components, along with modern machinery and technical equipment.

The hub is designed to support SS-I, or Shop Schedule I, and SS-II maintenance. SS-I work on one 24-coach trainset is expected to take about 30 days, while SS-II maintenance will take approximately 45 days. Based on these schedules, the facility will be able to handle around 12 trainsets a year for SS-I maintenance or eight trainsets for SS-II maintenance.

Construction of the Heavy Repair Bay Shed is nearing completion. The 322 m by 25 m structure covers about 86,597 square feet and will contain two maintenance lines. One line will have synchronised pit jacks for lifting coaches and removing bogies, while the other will support work on interiors, passenger amenities, braking systems and electrical equipment.

Separate section sheds, measuring 322 m by 20 m and covering about 69,334 square feet, are being developed for dismantling, assembling and overhauling major equipment. These facilities will handle components such as traction transformers, traction converters, traction motors, auxiliary converters, isolation transformers, pantographs and roof-mounted package units.

Rail linking across four stabling lines, covering about 2,547 m, has been completed. The Electrical Substation building, measuring 30 m by 20 m and covering 6,458 square feet, has also been completed and handed over, while work on both Heavy Repair Bay maintenance lines is almost finished.