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Vande Bharat Express

Everything About Vande Bharat Train, The Future Of Rail Travel By Indian Railways

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Introducing a high-speed rail network in India has been planned for a long time. The projects could not be implemented because the Indian Railways was concerned about safety and cost. The aim of Indian Railways initially was to increase the maximum speed from 85 km/h to 150 km/h and now the semi-high-speed Vande Bharat train has the highest commercial speed of 130 km/h. Gatimaan Express still remains the fastest with a speed of 160 km/h.

History of the Vande Bharat train

With the introduction of Gatimaan Express in 2016, the Indian Railways already reached a speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). It is still the fastest-operating train as of now. When the Indian Railways decided on building a modern higher-speed rail, they planned that the indigenous (EMU) semi-high-speed train, would run at a speed of 160 km/h (99 mph) with modern facilities onboard in 2017. Two semi-high-speed trains were reported to be manufactured and were targeted to be completed in the year 2018. The trains were named ‘Train-2018’.

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‘Train-2018’ was supposed to replace the then-existing 30-year-old Shatabdi Express, as it takes 15% more time to cover the same journey. The train achieved an operational speed of 180 km/h during the test runs. In 2000, for the first time, India conducted a trial run at this speed but the acceleration of the Vande Bharat Express was higher.

The test run speed of the Vande Bharat train was 180 km/h, operational speed was capped at 130 km/h

As Indian Railways reports indicated that just 0.3% of the country’s track is capable of supporting speeds of that magnitude.

  • The present operational speed of the Vande Bharat train- is 130 km/h (81 mph).
  • The certified speed for the commercial run if track infrastructure permits- is 160 km/h (99 mph).
  • The tested speed of the semi-high-speed train- is 180 km/h (110 mph).
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Inauguration of Vande Bharat Express

On 15 February 2019, after four years of planning, manufacturing, and testing, The Vande Bharat Express, previously known as Train 18, was inaugurated by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. It was equipped to begin service from New Delhi to Varanasi. It was then that the Railway minister renamed the train to ‘Vande Bharat Express’.

The New Delhi–Varanasi route was a success so was the New Delhi–Katra route which was introduced later. So, the production of 45 new Vande Bharat train sets was approved by the Railway Board which were to be completed by 2022.

But due to Covid-19, the production was delayed. Despite the pandemic, the Union minister chose to move ahead with the schedule and planned to build 10 trains by August 2022.

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Vande Bharat Express train Route

The New Delhi-Varanasi (22435/36) train– route starts from New Delhi Railway Station and crosses Kanpur Central and Prayagraj Junction before reaching its destination, Varanasi Junction.

The New Delhi-Smvd Katra (22439/40) train– route starts from New Delhi Railway Station and passes through Ambala Cant Junction, Ludhiana Junction, and Jammu Tawi before reaching Katra.

Chennai Central Station to Mysuru (20607/08) train– route starts from Chennai Central station and passes through Bengaluru City, Perambur, Veppampattu, Katpadi Junction, Gudupalli, and Malur to reach Mysuru Junction.

Vande Bharat train ticket price

The Vande Bharat Express has two seating options; Chair Car (CC) and Executive Class (EC). Vande Bharat train fare,

Varanasi-New Delhi (22435) – Rs 1,440 (CC), Rs 2,925 (EC); New Delhi- Varanasi (22436) – Rs 1,440 (CC), Rs 2,925 (EC).

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New Delhi- S M V D Katra (22439) – Rs 1,300 (CC), Rs 2,635 (EC); S M V D Katra- New Delhi (22440) -Rs 1,300 (CC), Rs 2,635 (EC).

Chennai Central Station to Mysuru (20607) – Rs 1200 (CC), Rs 2295 (EC); Mysuru to MGR Chennai Central Station (20608) – Rs 1365 (CC) and Rs 2485 (EC).

Here is more about Vande Bharat Express

Previously known as Train 18, the Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high-speed, electric multiple-unit train.

  • The Vande Bharat trains are to be operated by the Indian Railways on 5 routes as of November 2022.
  • Building the first train took 18 months and under the Make in India initiative, it was designed and manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at Perambur, Chennai.
  • The first Vande Bharat train’s unit cost was estimated at ₹100 crores and the first set of second-generation trains was estimated at ₹115 crores.
  • On 27 January 2019, the service was named ‘Vande Bharat Express’.
  • As the Vande Bharat train is operated at a maximum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph) which is its permissible limit due to precautionary measures, Gatimaan Express can be called the fastest train of India as its maximum permissible speed of 160 km/h (99 mph) during the Tughlakabad to Agra part of its route.
  • As per the Facebook page of Western Railway, there is information that the first versions of the Vande Bharat train reach 0-100 mph (0-160 Kmph) in 145 sec as the Designated Residual Acceleration is 0.05 m/s2.
  • The Designated Residual Acceleration of the second version is 0.11 m/s2 and it achieves 0-100 Kmph in just 52 seconds.
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The modern design of the Vande Bharat Express

The first version features:

  • To combat air resistance, the Vande Bharat Express’s exterior appearance has an aerodynamic design, narrowing at each end of the train.
  • For faster turnaround at terminating stations, the driver has a driver cabin at each end.
  • The train has a seating capacity of 1,128 passengers in 16 passenger cars.
  • The frame of the train is made totally of stainless steel and the coach is 23 meters long.
  • The electronic chips used and the wheels, among other components, are imported.
  • To help in quicker acceleration and deceleration and to provide even distribution of power, alternate coaches of the train are motorized.
  • The Vande Bharat train features a GPS-based passenger information system.
  • The train has bio-vacuum toilets, and the executive class gets rotational seats.
  • It also has a regenerative braking system.

Improved Second versions of Vande Bharat Express

Government plans to build 75 new trains by August 2023 under ICF. Four of these have been completed as of October 2022, and about 6 are under production at ICF.  The former ICF GM, Sudhanshu Mani said,

“Now that ICF has already developed four [Vande Bharat] trains and have got a hang of the process, they can easily roll out three-four trains per month and around 40 by 15 August next year, which according to me is a good number.”

The second version of this train will include upgraded amenities, security, seating, and surveillance systems. They will have better features designed for emergencies in addition to the previous facilities.

The safety features of the new rakes will include,

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  • Four emergency windows.
  • Disaster lights in all coaches if there happens to be a light system failure.
  • Fire survival cables inside door circuits.
  • In case the Air Conditioner’s power fails, there will be availability of ventilation for three hours.
  • The emergency push buttons will also be increased to four per coach.

To monitor all types of electricity, climate control, and other vital systems of the train, the new coaches will be equipped with a centralized Coach Monitoring System.

The new rakes will also be equipped with a push-back arrangement for smooth reclining of the seats.

The new coaches are supposed to be provided with a bacteria-free air conditioning system, air purification system (photocatalytic ultraviolet air purification system in the roof-mounted package unit (RMPU)), and higher flood protection of underframe equipment to ensure reliability during monsoons as mentioned by an official.

The seat handle will have seat numbers in Braille letters. The coaches of the new trains will be lighter as compared to the older ones.

India plans to produce the new rakes with its own resources without importing.

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Indian Railways’ further plans

Indian Railways along with ICF were also planning the development of Train 20, which was supposed to replace the Rajdhani Express. As per reports, this new train will have an Aluminium body with sleeper coaches.

The new set of Vande Bharat train to be rolled out by 2022, is supposed to include a modified cabin crash guard made of aluminum along with a lithium-ion battery set.

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