Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said that Indian Railways has successfully completed trials of the second generation Vande Bharat train that will come with enhanced passenger comfort and safety features. Regular production of these trains will begin from October, he added.
“We completed the testing of Vande Bharat yesterday (Thursday)...we will now start its serial production...target will be that going into October, we can start regular production...two-three trains every month, then taking it up to five trains and eight trains,” the Minister told reporters.
The Railways has set a target of rolling out 75 such trains by August 2023. The new train, which touched a speed of 180 kmph during trials, will be primarily made at Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.
The train can accelerate from 0-100 kmph in 52 seconds and reach a speed of 160 kmph in 130 seconds as compared to the earlier version, which can go from 0-100 kmph in 54.6 seconds and 160 kmph in 146 seconds. The weight of the train is also lesser by 38 tonne.
An interesting addition to the new Vande Bharat is that of a made-in-India ‘photo-catalytic ultra violet air purification system’ that will filter and clean the air, deactivating 99.9% of viruses and bacteria.
Mr. Vaishnaw added that the new train comes with much advanced passenger comfort and safety features.
Seats in all the travelling classes will have side recliner facility, the Minister noted, adding that the train will also facilities such as 32-inch LCD TVs, higher battery back up of three hours and a better flood level. It will also offer wifi-enabled content on demand. The trains will be pre-fitted with the Kavach (the indigenously-developed train collision avoidance system), he mentioned.
