In the heart of St Petersburg, the cultural capital of Russia, lies a locomotive manufacturing factory with a nearly 200-year history. The plant — which had its genesis in the rule of the tsars (Russian emperors), indented later by the Bolshevik movement and named after the October (Oktyabrsky in Russian) Revolution — is now the base of expansion of Russia’s largest rolling stock manufacturing company, Transmashholding (TMH), and its ambitious plans to produce India’s ultramodern Vande Bharat sleeper trains, meant for long-distance overnight journeys. Spread over 42 hectares, the Oktyabrsky Electric Car Repair Plant (OEVRZ) manufactures metro cars and carriage models for St Petersburg. A part of TMH group, OEVRZ will provide services in manufacturing the Vande Bharat sleeper trains. Indian Railways had on September 27, 2023, signed a contract with Kinet Railway Solutions Limited, an Indo-Russia joint venture that entails a major shareholding by TMH for the supply of 1,920 Vande Bharat sleeper coaches. According to the project timeline, two prototypes will be ready before the end of 2025 and production of the rolling …