PremiumIndian Railways plans to increase the speed of the new version of the Vande Bharat Express train to 180kmph this year from 160kmph. The train is expected to run at speeds of 220kmph by 2025 and subsequently faster at 260kmph, on par with the speed of most European high-speed trains
Listen to this article |
NEW DELHI : Indian Railways is developing its own super-fast train by increasing the speed of the locally made Vande Bharat Express in a phased way to match those running in European nations.
The railways plans to increase the speed of the new version of the Vande Bharat Express train to 180km per hour (kmph) this year from 160kmph. The train is expected to run at speeds of 220kmph by 2025 and subsequently faster at 260kmph, on par with the speed of most European high-speed trains.
Speaking at the Mint Mobility conclave, railways minister Ashwani Vaishnaw said that the development of Vande Bharat trains took a leaf out of Japan’s book, where bullet trains gradually increased their speed since their launch in 1959. They currently run at a speed of around 320kmph.
Vande Bharat would also increase its speed in phases and continue to improve the overall passenger experience, safety and security.
The first version of the Vande Bharat trains was launched in 2019 under the Make in India initiative and is designed to reach speeds up to 160kmph. However, this has been boosted to 180kmph in the second version, which will start operating this month, with 75 such trains deployed by 15 August next year as part of the country’s 75 years of independence celebrations.
Vaishnaw said that Vande Bharat versions 3 and 4 would run at speeds of about 220kmph and 260kmph, respectively.
The tender for Vande Bharat 3 is expected to be finalized by December, with the high-speed train expected to join the Indian Railways fleet by 2025.
“The India Vande Bharat trains have been running in the country since 2019 and have covered 1.8 million km so far. The technology is now proven, which gives us the confidence that the trains would become the prime provider of high-speed mobility in the country," Vaishnaw said.
The Vande Bharat 2 is an improved version of its launch version, providing better ride quality with the use of air springs. Besides, the train will be fitted with better seating and interiors and an in-built anti-collision system. Vande Bharat 3 would be lighter, too, with extensive use of aluminium and better wheels for high acceleration.
Japan’s bullet train project started in 1959, with a maximum speed of 163kmph. This went up to 210kmph in 1964 and further to 270kmph in 1992 and 300kmph in 1997 before reaching the current speed of 320kmph in 2013.
Indian Railways has set a target of manufacturing 300 Vande Bharat train sets over the next three years (2025). This will be increased to 500 trains by 2028. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the Railways a target to make at least 75 such trains by August 2023, coinciding with 75 years of Indian Independence. The plan is also to connect 75 key Indian cities with these trains.
Indian Railways’ Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, plans to manufacture around 10 Vande Bharat trains a month and, eventually, the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, and the Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli, are also likely to start manufacturing these coaches to meet the target of 500 trains.
Two sets of Vande Bharat trains are running on the Delhi-Katra and Delhi-Varanasi routes. Two more Vande Bharat semi-high-speed trains are expected to enter operations by August.
The new sets of these trains would be an improvement over the initial version, as they would be fitted with the railways’ latest train collision avoidance system, or Kavach. The coaches will also be equipped with modern fire alarms, emergency light systems and exits and an aircraft-like seating system with a reinforced exterior to minimize damage.
The Vande Bharat trains are also cost competitive, with the manufacturing cost of a 16-coach Vande Bharat train coming to roughly around ₹130 crore.