Even though the 75 new upgraded Vande Bharat trains, which were announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August last year, will be loaded with additional security features and passenger amenities, the manufacturing cost of the train is not expected to rise significantly, according to a senior Railways official.
The new trains, two of which are expected to hit the tracks for trials in August this year, will be manufactured at an estimated cost of about ₹110-120 crore each, as against the cost of ₹106 crore each for the earlier two trains.
The railways is confident of achieving its target of manufacturing 75 such trains by August 2023.
"The cost of manufacturing a 16-coach Vande Bharat train would be roughly ₹110 to 120 crore. Our upgrades are improvements only, and as we make more trains, our cost decreases. With volume, the cost will come down further," General Manager, Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, A.K. Agarwal said.
Currently, two Vande Bharat trains are operational, running between Delhi-Katra and Delhi-Varanasi.
Collision avoidance system and other special upgrades to Vande Bharat trains
The biggest safety addition in the upgraded Vande Bharat trains will be the support for TCAS or Kavach, the train collision avoidance system (TCAS) to prevent signal passing at danger (SPAD) cases, and unsafe situations arising due to overspeeding, and train collisions in station area.
Other safety features include fire detection alarms in coaches, a fire detection suppression system in cubicles and toilets — where aerosol will automatically be released in case of a fire, and additional disaster lights, emergency lights, and four emergency windows per coach as against two earlier.
Passengers will also have access to more number of emergency push buttons and emergency talk back units — where they can speak to the loco pilot.
The trains will also have a centralised coach monitoring system through which all electrical components and climate control will be monitored real time by a designated person.
Following cases of cattle run over causing serious damage to the train exteriors, the new trains will have strengthened fibre reinforced plastic, made from materials used in aircraft. An ICF official said they were also in talks with the aviation sector to source the required materials.
Reclining seats
Following customer feedback on the seats, the ICF has redesigned the train seat by replacing the sliding reclining seats to aircraft like reclining seats.
"The new trains will provide better riding comfort to passengers…there will be significantly less jerks," Mr. Agarwal said, adding that windows had been made wider and more space had been given for luggage.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last year set a target of operating 75 such trains by August 2023.
