India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and the Union Minister of Railways, Shri Piyush Goyal, inaugurated at New Delhi station the Vande Bharat Express trains, country’s first ‘semi-high speed’ railway line, linking the capital with Varanasi, crossing through the industrial city of Kanpur and Allahabad, in in Uttar Pradesh.
The 16-car train which accommodate 1,128 passengers, can run up to a maximum speed of 160 km/h providing new travel experience to passengers. Out of 16 coaches, 12 are normal chair car type with 78 seats, two coaches are executive type with 52 seats and two driving coaches.
Each coach is fitted with air-conditioning system, automatic doors, audio-visual passenger information system and on-board Wi-Fi. The train is equipped with regenerative braking system which can save up to 30% of electrical energy.
Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, a Railways Production unit, designed and produced the in-house train within 18 months.
The train was manufactured on the basis of “Make in India” vision. The major systems of the train have been designed and built in India. “Impact of this train, matching global standards of performance, safety and passenger comfort and yet costing less than half of global prices, has the potential to be a game changer in the global rail business,” the government said.
Vande Bharat Express service reduces the travel time by 3 hours, covering the 770-km distance between New Delhi and Varanasi in 8 hours.
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