The Railways aims to launch 102 Vande Bharat trains by March 2024. Presently, only two of that kind Shatabdi-type semi-high speed trains are in the system.
The train’s major systems were designed and made in India, in accordance with the Prime Minister’s idea of “Make in India.” The impact of this train, which meets global performance level, security, and traveler comfort norms while costing less than half of global prices, has the prospect to be a key differentiator in the global rail industry.
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As per the report, the railway ministry has released a new tender to source 58 Vande Bharat trains in an effort to match its goal of incorporating 75 Vande Bharat trains by August 15, 2023. The arrival of all these news trains will add a significant number of news trains to 102 by March 2024, just two months prior to the next general election.
It is important to note that Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially stated in his Independence Day speech that 75 Vande Bharat trains will link major cities and towns by August 15, 2023.
“The first test vehicle rake is supposed to be ready to be dispatched in March 2022, with commercial operation outset in June 2022,” a senior administration official said.
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Vande Bharat Trains will be Built at Chennai, Rae Bareilly, and Kapurthala Coach Factories
The tender, published on August 28, requested proposals for the design, development, manufacture, incorporation, and testing of traction propulsion electrics for the production of 58 Vande Bharat train rakes.
These trains will be built at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, the Modern Coach Factory in Rae Bareilly, and the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala. The tender will be closed on October 20, 2021. A pre-bid session will be scheduled on September 21, with the timeframe for pre-bid queries being September 14, 2021.
According to a report referencing the tender document, the vendor of these 58 trains will be fully accountable for their upkeep for eight years in addition to the two-year warranty. Currently, railways are in charge of such train servicing.
The Next Production of Vande Bharat Rakes will have Highly Improved Facilities
The next production of Vande Bharat rakes will have improved facilities such as better seating, safety, and surveillance cameras, as well as emergency functions, and will be commercially available from June 2022 onwards.
A “pushback arrangement” for improved seat reclining will be a big improvement for the new coaches. Seating comfort problems have been reported in the first two rakes of the Vande Bharat trains. A Centrally controlled Coach Tracking System will also be installed in the coaches to track all electrical, climate control, and other essential train systems.
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Vande Bharat is a Promising Project of Indian Railways
Vande Bharat is a high-end air-conditioned chair-car service that resembles high-speed trains. These are auto train sets that can attain faster speeds to 180 kilometers per hour. Currently, two Vande Bharat trains run on the Indian Railways network, one on the Delhi-Varanasi route and the other on the Delhi-Katra pathway.
Onboard infotainment, a GPS-based traveler information system, CCTV cameras, and automatic sliding doors with movable coach footsteps and zero disposal vacuum-based bio-toilets are among the facilities available on the existing train set
On February 15, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the inaugural run of a Vande Bharat train between New Delhi and Varanasi. On October 3, that year, Amit Shah, the home minister, inaugurated the second such train service between New Delhi and Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Katra.
