The sleeper version of the Vande Bharat train set is ready for a trial run near Kota in Rajasthan. Around 100 train sets are set to be manufactured and a contract has been issued for this. However there was a hitch regarding the number of toilets which has now been resolved. The sleeper version of Vande Bharat is all set to begin operations in the near future. While the issue regarding the number of toilets was initially unresolved the ministry has now cleared the path for construction. Typically the sleeper coach of express trains has four toilets. The Ministry of Railways has floated a tender for 80 sleeper Vande Bharat trains and the contract has been awarded to TMH a major company of Russian Railways and RVNL’s Kinet Railway Solutions a PSU of Indian Railways. They will manufacture 1920 coaches. The contract is valued at Rs 55000 crore with a proposal for three toilets and one mini pantry on each train. Earlier railway officials were undecided about the number of toilets as the ministry planned to run the trains over long distances. The previous coaches had four toilets and one pantry. However the companies that secured the contract immediately informed the ministry that adding more toilets would raise the cost of the coaches and demanded additional funding. According to a report published in The Times of India Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw put the matter to rest by directing the companies to proceed with three toilets and one mini pantry instead of a full pantry coach. The contract for the construction of coaches has not only been secured by Kinet but several other companies will also be part of the project.