Vande Bharat Express also incorporates many advanced safety measures.
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a high-speed train named Vande Bharat in his home state of Gujarat. The train will run between Gandhinagar and Mumbai, connecting the state capitals of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Here are 5 facts about the new and upgraded version of Vande Bharat Express
PM Modi after the launch said that the 16-coach Vande Bharat Express, with a capacity of 1,128 passengers, will provide a better experience for travellers even compared to flying.
The weight of the train has been reduced by 38 tonnes from earlier versions to 392 tonnes, ensuring a more comfortable ride, and it can continue functioning even in two feet of water, officials said.
New Delhi plans to launch 75 of the Vande Bharat Express trains by August 2023 to connect all major industrial and business cities. The trains have a top speed of 160 kilometres per hour (km/h) (99 miles per hour), according to the news agency Reuters.
A spokesperson for Integrated Coach Factory, Chennai, which manufactured the train, told Reuters it was fully designed in India, with 80 per cent local materials, and would cost about $135 million. He added that the state-run factory aimed to produce at least 27 by March 2023, besides high-speed freight trains soon.
Indian Railways, which posted a fall in passenger earnings during two years of the pandemic, is on a path to recovery, with total revenues up 37 per cent year-on-year to $11.82 billion in April-August.
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