Chennai: A total of 475 Vande Bharat semi high speed express trains will be manufactured in the next four years. They will cover the entire country in the coming months, said railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after flagging off the country’s third Vande Bharat train at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai.
The Minister said that 75 such trains would be manufactured before August 15, 2023. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Railway has planned to roll out four Vande Bharat Express trains every month from November 2022. Within a year, most cities of India will get connected by Vande Bharat. Third rake allotted to Western Railway and will most likely run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad junction.
The train that can touch 160 kmph speed in 140 seconds comes with a slew of features like anti-collision system (Kavach technology), tap-to-touch lights, rotatable seats, emergency phone options, CCTV camera surveillance, pantry for each compartment with fridge and oven, luxury toilets and 32-inch infotainment system.
The train has rotatable seats
“The third Vande Bharat train will be tested for 50,000 km. All kinds of trials will be done. Following that, more such trains will be manufactured,” he said.
Presently, there are two Vande Bharat express trains – one plying between New Delhi and Varanasi and the other between New Delhi and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi.
“India is proud of ICF Chennai. We are in the 75th year of independence, and the ICF Chennai has constructed the train in a record time. Congrats to all the staff,” said Vaishnaw.
The minister lauds Tamil language
Later, at a flag hoisting event in Triplicane MRTS station, the Minister lauded Tamil language as one of the oldest languages in India. He also praised Tamil poet Subramania Bharati and his literary voyage to strengthen India’s essential character.
