Vande Bharat Express trains: The semi-high-speed train Vande Bharat Express rakes have been given a new look. As per the Indian Railways officials, the 28th rake of the made-in-India semi-high-speed train will be in a combination of saffron and grey instead of the existing blue and white colour. However, the new saffron Vande Bharat Express, which is currently stationed in Chennai's Integral Coach Factory (ICF), where Vande Bharat trains are made, is not yet in service.
The pictures of the Vande Bharat Express donning the new colour were shared by the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on his Twitter account.
Railways officials told the news agency ANI that a total of 25 rakes of Vande Bharat Express are operational on their designated routes and two rakes are reserved. "While the colour of this 28th rake is being changed on a trial basis," they said.
Ashwini Vaishnaw inspectes manufacturing of Vande Bharat trains
Earlier on Saturday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Tamil Nadu's Chennai and inspected the manufacturing of Vande Bharat trains at the facility. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was also accompanied by senior officials of the ICF. He took stock of the production of the latest new-generation high-speed trains and went around the sprawling campus. In a video, the railway minister was seen examining the seats inside the Vande Bharat train. He also visited the loco pilot zone and inspected the area.
25 improvements done in Vande Bharat trains
Following his inspection, Vaishnaw said that the 28th rake of the indigenous train features a new colour scheme that draws “inspiration from the Indian Tricolor”. He further said that 25 improvements have done in the Vande Bharat trains. Some of the features including seat declining angle, better cushion for seats, better accessibility to mobile charging points than before, extended foot-rest in the Executive Chair cars among others.
He said that the railways work based on the feedback received from the passengers as well as other stakeholders. "These inputs are being used to better the coaches for safe and comfortable travel of the passengers. The process of production of Vande Bharat Sleeper Version as well as the Vande Metro Coaches are going in a very good phase, he said.
“This is a concept of Make In India, (which means) designed in India, by our own engineers, and technicians. So whatever feedback we are receiving from the field units, regarding ACs, toilets, etc., during the operation of Vande Bharat, all those improvements are being used for making changes in the design.
“A new safety feature, 'anti climbers', or anti-climbing devices, on which we are working, were also reviewed today. These will be standard features in all the Vande Bharat and other trains,” Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a press briefing.
Two new Vande Bharat flagged off in Uttar Pradesh
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off two new Vande Bharat Express train services. The first one will run between Gorakhpur-Lucknow and the second between Jodhpur-Ahmedabad (Sabarmati).
While the Gorakhpur–Lucknow Vande Bharat Express will pass through Ayodhya, improving connectivity and giving a fillip to tourism in Uttar Pradesh, the Jodhpur-Sabarmati Vande Bharat train will improve connectivity to places such as Jodhpur, Abu Road and Ahmedabad.
First Vande Bharat train
ICF introduced the first semi-high-speed train, commonly known as the Vande Bharat Express, during the year 2018-19. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking its journey from New Delhi to Varanasi. In the second week of October 2022, ICF achieved the distinction of having turned out 70,000 plus coaches since its inception in 1955, which is the highest by any passenger coach manufacturer in the world.
Vande Bharat Express
Vande Bharat Express is an indigenously manufactured, semi-high speed and self-propelled train set. The train is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities, providing passengers with a faster, more comfortable and convenient travel experience. The Vande Bharat train is India's first indigenously manufactured semi-high-speed trainset, also known as Train 18. It is designed to run at speeds of up to 160 km/h and is equipped with modern amenities such as GPS-based passenger information systems, onboard Wi-Fi, and CCTV cameras for enhanced security.
There has been a growing demand for the introduction of sleeper class Vande Bharat trainsets, which are capable of operating on long-distance routes such as Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah. Currently, all operational Vande Bharat trains only have chair car and executive chair car classes, which cater to shorter distance routes.
Also Read: Railways to slash fares of AC chair car, executive classes by up to 25 pc
(With agencies input)
