Indian Railways could start the operation of the third rake Vande Bharat train by early next year. Currently, there are two such semi-high-speed Vande Bharat trains running from New Delhi to Varanasi and New Delhi to Katra. Speaking to the Livemint, a senior official of Integral Coach Factory (ICF) informed that currently, six body skeletons of Vande Bharat trains are ready and work on their propulsion system is underway. Stating that the third rake is slated to be introduced by March 31, the official added that the new Vande Bharat train will feature some additional technical features as well.
The ICF will hand over the new rakes to the Railway Board after manufacture and the board will take final on the trains operational route and other details of the new Vande Bharat trains.
The coaches of these trains will be manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai; Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala; and Modern Coach Factory, Rae Bareilly. Railways expect 102 such trains to be ready for operation by 2024.
As part of the celebration of 75 years of India’s independence, the railway plans to roll out a minimum of 10 new Vande Bharat trains that will connect 40 cities by August 2022. In August this year, the railways had floated tender for 58 rakes of the Vande Bharat train. The tender had invited bids for the development, design, manufacturing, integration and testing for the 58 new rakes of the Vande Bharat trains.
Vande Bharat, India’s first indigenously made semi-high-speed train set, is a combination of 16 carriages that’s self-propelled and doesn’t require an engine to haul. The concept is known as distributed traction power and has gained popularity across the globe in recent years. The use of this concept has played a key role in the ruling out of the locomotive-hauled trains.
The Vande Bharat trains have airline-style seating, automatic doors, and other modern upgrades for the passengers’ comfort and convenience.
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