Vande Bharat Trains Bolstered with 25 Advanced Features, Showcasing India's Technological Advancement
The Vande Bharat Express, a series of semi-high-speed trains developed indigenously, has received widespread acclaim for its modern amenities, safety measures, and comfortable journey since its initial launch. These flagship trains are considered emblematic of India's technological advancements, and they are now set to be reintroduced in a revamped form, equipped with cutting-edge facilities and features. The latest iterations of the Vande Bharat Express, currently being manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, will boast 25 advanced safety features.
After visiting the ICF, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw commented, "I am happy to see the improvements being carried out at the Vande Bharat Express and I have inspected about 25 safety and technical improvement features that have been implemented in the next Vande Bharat Express that is under production."
New Features on the upgraded Vande Bharat trains include:
An increase in seat declining angle
Better cushion for seats
Better accessibility to mobile charging points
Extended footrests in the executive chair cars
Washbasin with increased depth to avoid splashing of water
Better lighting in toilets
Provision of fixing points for wheelchairs used by Divyangjan passengers in the driving trailer coaches
Change of reading lamp touching from resistive touch to capacitive touch for easy use
Better roller-blind fabric
A new anti-climbing device for enhanced safety is also installed at the rakes.
The new color of the 28th rake of the indigenous train, which is under production at ICF, will be saffron, "inspired by Indian Tricolour".
"This is a concept of Make In India, (which means) designed in India, by our own engineers, and technicians. So whatever feedback we are receiving from the field units, regarding ACs, toilets, etc., during the operation of Vande Bharat, all those improvements are being used for making changes in the design," Minister Vaishnaw said in a press briefing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked a significant milestone on Friday as he inaugurated the Gorakhpur-Lucknow and Jodhpur-Sabarmati versions of the Vande Bharat Express trains at Gorakhpur Station in Uttar Pradesh. With these new and improved trains joining the fleet, the total number of operational services across the country reaches an impressive 50.
During the period of 2018-19, the Indian Railways introduced the nation's inaugural semi-high-speed train, widely recognized as the 'Vande Bharat Express.' The inaugural train journey commenced when Prime Minister Narendra Modi ceremoniously launched the first train from New Delhi to Varanasi in 2019.
In October 2022, ICF accomplished a remarkable milestone by producing over 70,000 coaches since its establishment in 1955. This outstanding achievement establishes ICF as the leading passenger coach manufacturer globally, with the highest number of coaches produced to date.