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Vande Bharat Express
Series of Indian semi-high speed EMU train services From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Vande Bharat Express is a medium to long-distance semi-high speed express train service operated by the Indian Railways. It is a reserved, air-conditioned chair car service connecting cities that are less than 800 km (500 mi) apart or take less than ten hours to travel with existing services. The commercial service was officially inaugurated on 15 February 2019.
The trainsets are self-propelling Electric Multiple Units with eight, sixteen or twenty coaches. The trainsets were introduced as a part of the Make in India initiative by the Indian government. They were designed and are manufactured by the state-owned Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. Introduced in 2018, the trainsets achieved speeds of up to 183 km/h (114 mph) during trial runs. However, the maximum operational speed is restricted to 160 km/h (99 mph) which is achieved by the Rani Kamalapati–Hazrat Nizamuddin and Hazrat Nizamuddin-Khajuraho services on the Tughlakabad–Agra section. This is the highest operational speed on the Indian Railways network, shared with Gatimaan Express over the same section. The train is capable of faster acceleration and deceleration, and it went from 0 to 100 km/h in 52 seconds during the trial runs.
Vande Bharat sleeper services have been planned, which would be serviced by dedicated sleeper trainsets consisting of sixteen coaches each. These would be reserved, air-conditioned sleeper services connecting cities that are 800 km (500 mi) to 1,200 km (750 mi) apart.
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History
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Efforts to increase speed
In 1960, the Indian Railway Board commissioned a study to increase the speed of its trains, which was restricted to 96 km/h (60 mph) on the existent broad gauge lines.[3] The Research Design and Standards Organisation was tasked with achieving a target speed of 160 km/h (99 mph) and an intermediate target of 120 km/h (75 mph) for passenger trains. Rajdhani Express trains, capable of reaching speeds of up to 120 km/h (75 mph), were introduced in 1969. The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at Madras manufactured the coaches, which were hauled by diesel locomotives.[4][5] With the introduction of WAP-1 electric locomotives, Shatabdi Express trains introduced in 1988, were capable of running at a maximum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph).[6][7][8] From the late 1990s, the ICF coaches were began to be replaced by the safer LHB coaches designed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany.[9][10]
In December 2009, the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India envisaged the implementation of high-speed rail projects to provide passenger services at 250–350 km/h (160–220 mph) through the upgradation of existing tracks, construction of new lines and introduction of high speed trainsets.[11][12] In the 2014 railway budget, a proposal was made to introduce semi-high-speed 160–200 km/h (99–124 mph) services between major cities.[13] Gatimaan Express, introduced in 2016, achieved speeds of 160 km/h (99 mph) in a sector between Delhi and Agra.[14]
In the mid 2010s, the Indian Railways sought Request for qualifications to jointly manufacture five thousand Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) sets with interested international and domestic parties.[15] In 2015, Talgo conducted trial runs on the Mumbai–Delhi line, completing the journey in ten hours, almost six hours quicker than the existing fastest train and achieved an average speed of 117.5 km/h (73.0 mph). However, the deal never materialised due to concerns such as the adaptability of rolling stock, higher procurement and maintenance costs and robustness.[16][17]
Vande Bharat trainset
After foreign proposals for the proposed semi-high-speed trains were unsuccessful, the government decided to develop the trainsets locally as a part of the Make in India campaign.[18] A team led by Sudhanshu Mani worked on the development of the trainset at ICF. The prototypes were tested in 2018 and reached speeds of up to 183 km/h (114 mph) in trials.[19] Christened as Train 18 initially, these trainsets were later renamed to Vande Bharat.[20]
On 15 February 2019, the first Vande Bharat Express, plying between New Delhi and Varanasi, was flagged off at the New Delhi railway station by the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.[21][22] The train covered a distance of 759 km (472 mi) in eight hours at an average speed of 95 km/h (59 mph) and reduced the existing travel time along the route by 15%.[23] In October 2019, the second service was launched between New Delhi and Katra.[24]
After the inauguration of the first two services, the Indian Railways temporarily halted the production of new train-sets owing to internal issues.[25] In 2019, the production resumed after a lower cost revision was agreed for the upgrades required.[26] The second generation trainsets entered service in September 2022.[27] In December 2023, the Government announced a target to have 4,500 Vande Bharat trains by 2047.[28] As the Vande Bharat trains operated faster services connecting cities, the trains were planned to eventually replace the existing Shatabdi and Rajdhani express trains.[29][30]
The ICF was involved in the development a new version of the Vande Bharat trainset equipped with air-conditioned sleeper cars.[29] The first prototype was rolled out by BEML in September 2024.[31][32][33]
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Rolling stock
Vande Bharat Express uses Electric Multiple Unit trainsets manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai.[34] The trainsets have eight, sixteen or twenty chair cars.[35] A standard sixteen car rake consists of two driving trailer coaches, one each on every end along with two non-driver trailer coaches, four trailer coaches with pantographs and eight motor coaches.[36] A second generation sixteen car trainset weighs 392 tonnes and costs ₹115 crore (US$14 million).[37][38] The chassis of a coach is 23 m (75 ft) long, and is made of stainless steel.[39]
During the trial runs, the trainsets had clocked speeds of up to 183 km/h (114 mph) with an acceleration of 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in 52 seconds.[19][40] The operational speed is limited due to track restrictions, halts and traffic congestion. The maximum operational speed of 160 km/h (99 mph) is achieved by the Rani Kamalapati (Habibganj)–Hazrat Nizamuddin Vande Bharat Express and Hazrat Nizamuddin-Khajuraho Vande Bharat Express on the 174 km (108 mi) Tughlakabad–Agra section.[41]
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Facilities
AC Executive Class (EC)
AC Chair Car (CC)
The train has two classes of accommodation with the AC Chair Car being the standard class and the AC Executive Class being the premium class. The executive class coach can seat 52 passengers and is equipped with rotating seats in a 2x2 configuration.[42] The chair car coaches can seat 78 passengers per coach (limited to 44 in first and last trailer coaches) and are equipped with retractable seats in 2x3 configuration.[43] The coaches are fully air conditioned and equipped with electric outlets, reading lights, CCTV cameras, automatic doors, bio-vacuum toilets, sensor-based water taps and Passenger information system.[44] The coaches have wide windows with roller blinds and overhead racks for stowing luggage.[45] The service offers onboard catering with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian meal options included in the fare as standard.[46][47]
Services
The first service was introduced in February 2019, and 35 trains were operational in December 2023.[48] As of November 2025[update], 80 Vande Bharat trains are in service, which includes 18 twenty-car services, 17 sixteen-car services and 45 eight-car services.[49]
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See also
Notes
- Maximum permissible speed over different sections as approved by the Commissioner of Railway Safety
References
External links
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