Will Vande Bharat’s rotating Executive Class seats be removed? What railway engineers have actually proposed

Senior railway engineers have proposed removing the rotation mechanism from seats in Vande Bharat Chair Car Executive Class coaches. The suggestion arose at a conference of Principal Chief Mechanical Engineers and coach-production units, but it is a design proposal—not an approved passenger-service change.

The existing seats combine reclining and rotating mechanisms. Railway officials quoted in the report said rotation requires extra components, clearances and space, making parts more susceptible to wear, looseness and failure. The proposed fixed structure is intended to be sturdier and simpler to maintain.

The conference minutes said that eliminating the space needed for rotation could allow the row pitch to be reduced and one more row to be added to an Executive Class coach. That is a proposed capacity benefit; the Railways has not announced a revised seating layout or passenger count.

The Railway Board-compiled minutes assigned the Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer of Chennai’s Integral Coach Factory to initiate action on the suggestion. No final approval, implementation date or list of affected trainsets had been announced as of September 3, 2026, so current passengers should not expect an immediate change.