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Vande Bharat Express

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The Vande Bharat Express, also known as Train 18,[2] is an Indian semi-high-speed, intercity, EMU train[3] which was designed and manufactured by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at Perambur, Chennai under the Indian government's Make in India initiative, over a span of 18 months. The unit cost of the first rake was estimated at ₹100 crore (US$12 million), although it is expected to go down with subsequent production.[4] At the original price, it is estimated to be 40% cheaper than a similar train imported from Europe.[5] The train was launched on 15 February 2019,[6] by which date a second unit will have been produced and readied for service.[7] The service was named 'Vande Bharat Express' on 27 January 2019.[2] As of Aug 2021, the Indian Railways operates two Vande Bharat trains, one from Delhi to Varanasi and the other from Delhi to Katra.[8] In January 2021, Indian Railways awarded the contract for supply of propulsion and control equipment of 44 rakes to Medha Servo Drives, based at Hyderabad.Train No.is 22439 Up (Delhi-Katra) 22440 Dn (Katra-Delhi)[9]

Vande Bharat Express
File:Vande Bharat exp.jpg
Vande Bharat Express on its inaugural run.
Overview
Service typeHigher-speed rail
StatusActive
PredecessorShatabdi Express
First service15 February 2019; 5 years ago (2019-02-15)
Current operator(s)IRCTC
Websiteindianrail.gov.in
Route
Line(s) used2
On-board services
Class(es)
  • Premium Class
  • Executive Class
Disabled accessAccessible toilets for the disabled
Seating arrangements
  • Airline style
  • Rotatable seats
Catering facilitiesOn-board catering
Observation facilitiesLarge windows in all carriages
Entertainment facilities
Baggage facilitiesOverhead racks
Other facilities
Technical
Rolling stockVande Bharat rake[1]
Track gaugeIndian gauge
1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge
Electrification25 kV 50 Hz AC 1-phase
Operating speed130 km/h (81 mph)
Average length376.64 metres (1,235.7 ft)

Vande Bharat Express is designed to be capable of running at a maximum speed of 200 km/h (120 mph),[10] but the tracks on which the train operates are not capable of supporting such high speeds, hence the train is operated at a maximum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph). During the trials it achieved a record speed of 180 km/h (110 mph).[11] This made it the fastest train to run in India and the second fastest operating train in India, behind the Gatimaan Express which operates at 160 km/h (99 mph).[10][12]

History

India for a long period had plans to introduce a high-speed rail network to catch up with the rapidly growing world. But more than the speed and shortening travel time, the safety and cost were the primary concerns for the Indian railways.[13] Some of the railway experts said that India has lagged in the high-speed transit technology race because it was very expensive and the Indian Railways had to deal with safety and its ageing tracks first. However, the Indian railways aimed at increasing the then-existing maximum speed of 85 km/h (53 mph) to 150 km/h (93 mph) in the coming years.[13]

The Indian Railways went on to achieve the 99 miles per hour mark by the mid-2010s after the introduction of Gatimaan Express in 2016, which is still the fastest operating train to date.[14] The next logical step for Indian Railways was to build a modern higher-speed rail. When the Indian railways had floated a tender in June 2015, they found none of the bids to be viable and hence decided to move ahead to build it completely in India. In early 2017, it was planned that the indigenous engine-less (EMU) semi-high-speed train, with modern facilities onboard would run at a speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). Two new train sets were announced to be manufactured in ICF and were named 'Train-2018' since the manufacturing of these semi-high-speed services were targeted for completion in the year 2018.[15][16]

The manufacturing of 'Train-2018' was finally completed in October of 2018 and it was rolled out. It consisted of 80% indigenous parts while 20% was imported. It was planned to replace the then-existing 30-year-old Shatabdi Express, which takes 15% longer time to complete the same journey. Since it took 18 months to be manufactured, it was renamed to 'Train 18'.[17] During its test runs, the train achieved a record speed of 180 km/h which made it the fastest train to ever run in India.[18]

After four years of planning, manufacturing and trial run, Train 18 was finally inaugurated on 15 February 2019 and was ready to write a new chapter in the history books of Indian Railways, with the commercial services beginning from New Delhi to Varanasi.[19] It was soon renamed to 'Vande Bharat Express' by Railway minister.[2]

After the success of the first two services between New Delhi–Varanasi and New Delhi–Katra, the Railway Board gave the approval to ICF to manufacture 45 new Vande Bharat train sets by 2021-22 when India celebrates its 75 years of Independence.[20] Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, there was 12.5% loss in annual production capacity, adding to this was other administrative issues, which further delayed the production of new rakes.[21] However, the new Union minister decided to move ahead with the schedule and asked the officials to build 10 trains by August 2022.[22]

Design

 
Aerodynamic exterior design of Vande Bharat Express
 
Airline style seating arrangement in Vande Bharat Express
 
GPIS-based passenger information system

The Vande Bharat Express's exterior appearance consists of aerodynamic design, narrowing at each end of the train which is designed to combat air resistance.[23] It also has a driver cabin at each end, allowing for faster turnaround at terminating stations.[24] The train has 16 passenger cars, with a seating capacity of 1,128 passengers.[25] Two of the center compartments are first class compartments that seat 52 each, with the rest being coach compartments seating 78 each.[26]

Alternate coaches are motorised to ensure even distribution of power and to help in quicker acceleration and deceleration. The gangways are interconnected and fully sealed to allow better mobility between coaches and to reduce noise respectively. The train also features GPIS-based passenger information system, bio-vacuum toilets, and rotational seats which can be aligned in the direction of travel (only in executive class).[27]

The train's seats, braking system, doors, and transformers are the only elements of the train to be outsourced,[4] with plans to make them domestically on the production of the next unit.[28] Train 18 employs a regenerative braking system.[29]

Indian Railways and ICF were also planning the development of Train 20, another semi-high speed train that was supposed to replace the Rajdhani Express. This new train was planned to have Aluminium body with sleeper coaches.[30] Indian Railways also had planned to order 40 train sets of Train 18 by 2022, which would include modified cabin crash guard made out of aluminium along with a lithium-ion battery set.[31][32]

Second version

After the government had announced 75 new sets of Vande Bharat Express to be ready by August 2023,[33] ICF is set to build an upgraded version of these rakes and has planned to test the two prototypes on trial runs by March 2022.[34][35]

In addition to the previous facilities, the second version of this train will include upgraded amenities, seating, security and surveillance systems and the features designed for emergencies. When it comes to the safety features, the new rakes will be equipped with four emergency windows, disaster lights in all coaches in the event of light system's failure, fire survival cables inside of door circuits, availability of ventilation for three hours in case of Air Conditioner's power failure and emergency push buttons will also be increased to four per coach.[34][35]

The new coaches are also set to be equipped with a centralised Coach Monitoring System for all types of electricity, climate control and other vital systems of the train. To address the seat reclining issues of the previous version, the new rakes will be equipped with a push-back arrangement for smooth reclining. An official added that the new coaches will be provided with a bacteria-free air conditioning system and higher flood protection of underframe equipment to ensure reliability during monsoons.[34][35]

Trial runs

The train's first trial run occurred on 29 October 2018 in Chennai,[24] focusing on crew orientation and testing the train's brakes,[36] with further testing scheduled to be done in Delhi on 7 November and later in Rajasthan.[28] An Indian Railways official reported that "some fuses went off" during the trial in Chennai, but that the issue was minor and quickly fixed.[37] The train ended up leaving for Delhi later than expected, on 11 November, and arrived on 13 November.[37]

Testing was set to commence along a section of track between Bareilly and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh on 17 November,[38] but the location was subsequently changed to the stretch of rail between Moradabad and Rampur due to unspecified issues with the initial section of track.[39] The Moradabad–Rampur testing occurred at low speeds ranging from 30–60 km/h (19–37 mph).[40] After the lower-speed testing, the train was moved to a section of track between Kota and Sawai Madhopur to be tested at operating speed.[38] A team put together by India's Research Design and Standards Organisation will supervise the testing and give the go-ahead for the final speed test.[41]

During its trials, Train 18 reached speeds of 180 km/h (110 mph), the highest speed any train in India has reached in the trials but the due to speed limit of railway track of routes which used by Vande Bharat Express, the actual top operating speed is restricted to 130 km/h (81 mph).[42] The train is capable of peak speed of up to 200 km/h (120 mph).[10]

On 20 December 2018, one of the train's window was smashed by a thrown stone and the glass was shattered during its trial run from Delhi to Agra. The ICF's general manager, Sudhanshu Manu tweeted that a Vandal pelted a stone which broke the glass and hoped to nab him soon.[43][44][45][46]

Inauguration

 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging off the first "Vande Bharat Express" at New Delhi railway station on 15 February 2019.
 
The interior of the Vande Bharat express

The train flagged off for an inaugural run by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, on 15 February 2019,[6] with its commercial run started from 17 February 2019 onwards. It will be running on the Delhi–Varanasi route,[26] via Kanpur and Prayagraj, connecting the holy city of Varanasi to the Capital city, reducing travel time along the route by 15 percent.[3] The train's regenerative brakes are also expected to allow a 30% savings in electricity costs as compared to its predecessor.[47] At an operating speed of 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph), it will outpace the Shatabdi Express by 30 kilometres per hour (19 mph).[26] Although the trainset has been tested for speeds up to 180 km/h, operational speed has been capped at 130 km/h as an internal report by Indian Railways indicated that just 0.3% of the country's track is capable of supporting speeds of that magnitude.[48] Every other car on the train is motorised.[24] The 8-hour journey from New Delhi to Varanasi station has the Chair Car CC Class fare of ₹1,440.00 and covers the total distance of about 762 kilometers.[49]

Services

No. Train Name Train No. Zone Frequency Distance Speed (km/h) Inauguration Operator
Maximum permissible speed Average speed
1 Varanasi Junction - New Delhi Vande Bharat Express 22435/22436 NER, NR 5 days a week 759 km (472 mi) 130 km/h (81 mph) 94 km/h (58 mph) [50] 15 February 2019 Indian Railways
2 New Delhi - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande Bharat Express 22439/22440 NR 6 days a week 655 km (407 mi) 130 km/h (81 mph) 82 km/h (51 mph) [51] 3 October 2019 Indian Railways

Export

After the train's inauguration, it created a buzz in India as well as in other parts of the world. Rajesh Agarwal, the Member of Rolling stock in Indian Railways is hoping to export the train to Middle-eastern, South-east Asian, South American, North American and European countries. The Indian Railways have also reportedly received queries of interest from some of the Southeast Asian and South American countries such as Peru, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and from some of the Middle-east countries.[52] These countries have shown interest of purchasing the train sets because the average cost of a coach is around 6 crores which is four times lower than the world's average cost of 24-25 crores per coach and also for the fact that the train is passenger and environment friendly, as stated by Agarwal. He added that the train can be modified according to foreign needs. [53][54]

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b c "India's fastest to be called Vande Bharat Express". Indian Express. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Train 18, India's first engine-less train, set to hit tracks on October 29", The Indian Express, 24 October 2018
  4. ^ a b Prabhakar, Siddarth (23 October 2018). "First Made-in-India engineless train gets on track for trial run". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  5. ^ Arora, Rajat (16 March 2018). "Made-in-India 160 km per hour train to run from June". The Economic Times. New Delhi, India. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  6. ^ a b PTI (7 February 2019). "Train 18: PM Modi to flag off Vande Bharat Express on February 15 from New Delhi". Business Today. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  7. ^ Rupera, Prashant (3 November 2018). "Train 18 to change way Indians commute". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Vande Bharat trains: Soon, 44 more semi-high speed trains on Indian Railways network; check details". The Financial Express. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Indian Railways Adds Three-Year Delay to Make-In-India Vande Bharat Trainset, Then Hands Contract to Original Supplier". Railpost.in. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  10. ^ a b c "Train 18: Top features and facilities of the country's 'fastest train'". The Hindu. 3 December 2018. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Vande Bharat Express achieves 130 kmph speed during inaugural run". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. ^ "Gatimaan Express, India's fastest train, launched on the Delhi-Agra route". IndianExpress. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  13. ^ a b "India planning high-speed trains". BBC. 12 October 2012.
  14. ^ "Gatiman Express". Trains Of India. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Indian Railways: Train-2018 will begin its run at 160 kmph from Chennai ICF". Business Standard. 22 February 2017.
  16. ^ "Indian Railways enters new league! Swanky 160 kmph engine-less Make in India train is too good; 15 features". Financial Express. 27 March 2018.
  17. ^ "Train-18 country's first engine-less train rolled out; Train 20 next". 29 October 2018.
  18. ^ "At 180 kmph Vande Bharat is India's fastest train. Here's top 10 fastest trains in India". IndiaTV. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
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  28. ^ a b Stalin, J Sam Daniel (29 October 2018). "Inside India's 'Fastest' Train – 360-Degree Rotating Seats, Sliding Steps". NDTV. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  29. ^ Prabhakar, Siddarth (9 December 2018). "ICF asked to make two more Train-18 rakes before Lok Sabha polls". Times of India.
  30. ^ "After Train 18, Indian Railways focuses on the next-gen Train 20 that'll replace Rajdhani". Business Today (India). Living Media. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  31. ^ Narasimhan, T. E. (21 May 2019). "After Train 18, ICF to develop Train 19, sleeper version of Train 18". Business Standard India. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
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  33. ^ "Explained: 75 Vande Bharat trains could mean a new era for Indian Railways & passengers - in 5 charts". Times of India. 18 August 2021.
  34. ^ a b c "Upgraded Vande Bharat trains with new features to be ready by 2022". Hindustan Times. 20 August 2021.
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  53. ^ "Train 18 sets to be exported! Indian Railways looks to enter $200 billion world market for trains". 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  54. ^ "Many Countries Interested in Importing India's Train 18 Set: Railway Officials". NDTV.com. Retrieved 18 January 2019.

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