‘Vande Metro’ on anvil after 46 Vande Bharat trains connect 24 states

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By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, June 29: The government is now racing to develop the Vande Metro to provide rapid shuttle like experience for the passengers in urban centres. The government plans to roll out Vande Metro within periphery of big cities of around 50 kms where there is large habitat and to secure them like the Vande Bharat express.

“During the year 2023-24 the design and production will be completed for the Vande Metro and that will be ramped up in the upcoming financial year of 2024-25,” a note of the government stated. Railway consortiums who have bagged contracts to manufacture Vande Bharat trains are ramping up facilities and capacities for robust order flow in the next few years, as the Railways seeks to gain from the higher budgetary allocations.

The 46 Vande Bharat Express services have reached all rail-electrified states in the country. On February 15, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flagged off the first Vande Bharat Express between New Delhi and Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The train, as part of the ‘Make-In-India’ initiative, was indigenously engineered and manufactured at Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.

The Idea of manufacturing indigenous semi high speed train sets came during 1st Rail Vikas Shivir in 2016. The project began in mid-2017 and Integral Coach Factory (ICF) Chennai, manufactured Train-18 in 2018, India’s first semi-high-speed train set, in just 18 months.

However, semi-high speed trains run at about 160 kmph, and the Vande Bharat trains are averaging just about 60-70 kmph, way below to claim the tag of being precursor to semi-high speed trains.

The train was named Train-18 to signify the target completion time and the deadline set by ICF (18 months i.e by 2018), and on December 2 the Train-18 breached the 180 kmph speed limit on the Kota-Sawai Madhopur section. In January 2019, acknowledging its made-in-India status, Indian Railways named the indigenously manufactured Train-18 as Vande Bharat Express.

While the Vande Bharat trains are designed to clock speed in excess of 110 kmph, the lack of supporting tracks, which also need to be barricaded, acts as hindrance in scaling up the speed.

So far, there are 46 Vande Bharat Express services running enhanced commutes throughout the country. Encompassing a total of 24 states & UTs, the Vande Bharat Express fleet has been ever-growing owing to its time-saving feature, which saves an average of an hour in comparison to other trains.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2022, during her budget speech, announced that 400 new-generation Vande Bharat trains with better energy efficiency and passenger riding experience will be developed and manufactured. As of July 2022, a tender has been awarded for manufacturing 102 Vande Bharat trains and another tender has been floated for 200 Vande Bharat trains.

Additionally, Vande Bharat Express boasts an array of premium features, from being energy-efficient and making it an environmentally-conscious pick with a lower carbon footprint to ample legroom for passengers to enjoy scenic views throughout their journeys. The coaches are equipped with infotainment systems for recreation, mobile charging sockets for every seat, automatic plug doors, and direct & diffused lighting in the coaches. Factoring in safety, these train sets are fitted with the KAVACH System to ensure a secure voyage. Touch-free toilet systems enable a cleaner and more resourceful unit, which adds to the convenience of the passengers aboard. These are also Divyangjan-friendly coaches, equipped with a Braille system to offer smooth sailing and make the overall experience more inclusive.