Vande Bharat sleeper, metro trains coming soon: Everything to know
The Indian Railways (IR) is set to roll out its first version of sleeper coaches under the Vande Bharat Express project by March 2024, ANI reported. The new service is aimed at enabling passengers to travel long distances on high-speed trains overnight. It is reportedly also planning to launch Vande Bharat Metro in the country by January 2024, which will cater to short-distance travel needs. The announcement of the plans was made by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) on Friday.
Will be significant addition to Indian Railways' fleet
Announcing the plans, General Manager of ICF, BG Mallya, said, "Sleeper coach of Vande Bharat will be rolled out in the current financial year where the first train is under production and will be rolled out in March 2024." The trains will be a significant addition to the Indian Railways fleet. The Vande Metro, on the other hand, will be a 12-coach train that will be used for short-distance travel, Mallya added.
Watch: ICF General Manager Mallya addressing media
Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch to welcome Vande Bharat Express soon
Meanwhile, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that Neemuch in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh will soon get a Vande Bharat Express. "It is time for Vande Bharat to run on this route. Your Member of Parliament (MP) Sudhir Gupta has already requested for the same," he said, addressing the public at Neemuch on Monday. Notably, the first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off on February 15, 2019, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, running between New Delhi and Varanasi.
Vande Bharat Express reformed rail travel in India
The Vande Bharat Express offers state-of-the-art amenities and reduces travel time for passengers. Under this project, at least 50 trains are currently operational, and the semi-high-speed train now serves all rail-electrified states across the country. Manufactured at the ICF in Chennai, the train reportedly exemplifies the Make in India initiative and showcases India's engineering prowess. Per reports, the railways is also planning to launch nine semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express trains on various routes soon.
Vande Bharat Express renamed in January 2019
Reportedly, five of these nine routes have already been assigned. The project to manufacture indigenous semi-high-speed train sets began in mid-2017, and within 18 months, ICF Chennai completed "Train-18." It was renamed "Vande Bharat Express" in January 2019 to emphasize its made-in-India status. The train achieved a maximum speed of 180 kmp/h on the Kota-Sawai Madhopur section, giving new hope for the IR and passengers.
