Vande Bharat sleeper train: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday unveiled the prototype of the Vande Bharat sleeper coach at the Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) facility in Karnataka's Bengaluru. After unveiling the structure of the Vande Bharat sleeper coaches, Vaishnaw informed reporters that the coach is set to undergo rigorous trials and tests over the next 10 days before it is put on the tracks for further evaluation.
Notably, the Vande Bharat train comes in three versions: chair car, sleeper, and metro. To date, the government has launched the chair car version of the Vande Bharat trains. This indigenous version of the train is designed to provide a new experience to the passengers where they can travel long distances by sleeping in the berths.
Vande Bharat sleeper trains to be in operation in 3 months
He said that the train is expected to be open for passenger operation in the next three months. " "We expect the passenger operation of Vande Sleeper Coach in three months from now...This is a full sleeper version," he said.
The minister also laid the foundation stone for a new Vande Bharat manufacturing facility on the Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) premises. "We are starting a very important journey today. After the success of the Vande Bharat chair car, the manufacturing and design of the Vande Bharat Sleeper is something we all have been waiting and working for. The manufacturing of the Vande Bharat Sleeper is now complete. In a few days, the Vande Bharat Sleeper (coaches) will leave the BEML (Bharat Earth Movers Limited) factory in Bangalore for testing and trials," he said.
"Its configuration has been carefully designed with a lot of attention to detail. The needs of the serving staff, whether it's the loco pilots, maintenance staff, or those serving bedding and food, have been considered. Every toilet has been designed keeping specially-abled individuals in mind. Testing will continue for the next one to two months, and then most probably, the service will start in about three months," said Railway Minister Vaishnav.
Train meant for the middle class
Vaishnaw said the Railways is working on four configurations -- Vande Bharat chair cars, Vande Bharat sleeper cars, Vande Bharat Metro cars and Amrit Bharat -- which will change the way people travel.
According to him, the Vande Bharat sleeper train with 16 coaches is meant for overnight journeys and will cover 800 km to 1,200 km. The oxygen level inside the train and virus protection, a lesson learnt from COVID-19 pandemic, are added features of the train. "It will be a train meant for the middle class and the fares will be on par with Rajdhani Express," Vaishnaw said.
On the complaints about poor food quality being served in Vande Bharat, the minister said the Indian Railways serve 13 lakh meals a day and the complaints are less than 0.01. "But still we are very, very concerned about the complaints which come and we have taken very strong action against the caterers as well as the suppliers."
Vande Bharat sleeper train | Features
- Reading lamps, charging outlets, a snack table, and a mobile/magazine holder will be there on the train coach.
- Coaches will be equipped with the Kavach collision avoidance system
- All coaches will have stainless steel car bodies
- There will be crash-worthy passenger safety
- GFRP interior panels will be there
- Compartments will have fire safety compliance (EN 45545)
- There will be automatic doors
- The foot area on the ladder has been improved in the Vande Bharat sleeper coaches
- Toilets have new designs
- Air conditioning on the sleeper coaches have better control
- The seat cushion is better with new technology
- Oxygen level inside the coaches will be maintained
- 99.99 per cent virus will be eliminated
- The new Vande Bharat Express sleeper train will have 16 coaches and 823 berths and there will be 11 3AC coaches (611 berths), 4 2AC coaches (188 berths), and 1 1AC coach (24 berths).
(Input: Anamika Gaur)
