All You Need to Know about Vande Bharat Express Train
Guess what’s making some noise in the country these days apart from several critical downslides and climate issues? Chuck the dark ones as we focus on the much-in-news Vande Bharat Express – an all Indian semi-high speed intercity electric multiple unit train. Also known as Train 18, the vehicle was designed and built by Integral Coach Factory Chennai under the Indian government’s “Make In India” initiative over a span of 18 months.
The credit for the initiative remains for the fact that at the original price, the making cost was estimated to be 40% less costly than a similar train imported from Europe.
Vande Bharat Express – A Gentle Introduction
The Vande Bharat Express was flagged on 3rd October 2019 from New Delhi Railway Station. The route of the train is from Delhi to Katra and it is the second Vande Bharat Express. The first one runs between Delhi and Varanasi.As per Indian Railways, the Vande Bharat train was launched to ease off the journey to Katra for the devotees of Vaishno Devi, mainly. The main motive of launching this train is to contribute to Jammu & Kashmir’s development and religious tourism.
The Speed and Specifications:
The Vande Bharat Express is the fastest train in India covering the distance between Delhi and Katra in just eight hours, cutting off the extra four hours it used to take earlier.
Apart from this, the train has several other specifications which make it stand out. With features like plastic-bottle crusher machines on board, a spacious pantry with deep freezer, revolving seats and cattle guard, the Vande Bharat train focuses on passenger safety, cleanliness, hygiene, comfort, and other minute factors.
Trivia – All You Need to Know about Vande Bharat Train at One Go:
• Vande Bharat Express has two Executive AC Chair Car and 12 chair car coaches which have sensor doors.• It is the fastest train of India at present, with the highest speed of 160 km/hour (99.4 mi/h). However, the official speed is restricted to 130 km/hour (81mi/h).
• The Vande Bharat train is an engine-less self-propelled train, which makes for its features like faster acceleration and deceleration.
• There are 16 air-conditioned coaches, all equipped with luxurious interiors. The train is fully-equipped with modern amenities like GPS-based infotainment system, Wi-Fi, and CCTV surveillance, with all fully-automatic doors.
• The seats are all facilitated with 360 degrees rotating features, in the first class coach. The seats have reading lights overhead and Braille numbering mentioned in the seats for the disabled ones.
• To take care of the hygiene and cleanliness, the train toilets have bio-vacuum features that can convert the excreta into biodegradable products like water and gas with the aid of anaerobic bacteria. It is mainly to reduce the dumping of solid waste on the tracks.
• The train toilets also have diffused lighting, hands-free taps and dryers as added features for the passengers’ aid.
• Every seat has sockets for charging their electronic devices like laptop, mobile phones, and cameras.
• Each coach has LED screen lights with the display of next stoppage, train speed and other important information.
• To add to the other modern facilities, the train has CCTV cameras, an announcing system, and all automatic doors present in every coach.
• The pantry of the train is clean, modern, and spacious with the facilities of ROs, and a deep freezer to store ice-cream and welcome drinks. Additionally, there are three hot cases and two bottle coolers to serve the passengers the best.
• The train has continuous windows and the glasses are all covered with anti-spall films.
• In the train pilot’s cabin, roller blind sunscreen has been provided on the lookout glass to prevent the pilots from glare. It is also to improve insulation to ultimately reduce the noise level in the cabin.
Additional Important Information for the Passengers:
• The train number for Delhi-Katra (UP) is 22439. The train number for Katra-Delhi (DOWN) is 22440.• The scheduled departure time of Vande Bharat train from Delhi is at 6am and the scheduled arrival at Katra is 2pm, which is exactly 8 hours into the journey.
• The return journey from Katra starts at 3pm to reach Delhi at 11pm.
• The train runs from Delhi to Katra and back every day in a week, excluding Tuesdays.
• The stoppages in between Delhi and Katra are Ambala Cantonment, Ludhiana and Jammu Tawi, for two minutes each.
• The ticket fare of the train is between Rs. 1,630 and Rs. 3,015 varying with classes of coach and extra amenities taken.
Some Other High Speed Trains of India:
a) New Delhi Bhopal Habibganj Shatabdi Express
USP: Fully air-conditioned and is based on LHB coaches. Ticket fare includes cost of snacks, meals, coffee/tea, a one-litre water bottle / 300ml packaged water.
Cities covered: New Delhi, Mathura Junction, Agra Cantonment, Gwalior, Jhansi, Bhopal and Habibganj.
b) Mumbai Rajdhani Express
Highest speed: 140 km/h (87mi/h)
Runs between: Mumbai and New DelhiUSP: Fastest Rajdhani train with free Wi-Fi, 3D VR headsets and advanced hand-held terminals.
Cities covered: Kalyan, Jalgaon, Nasik Road, Bhopal, Jhansi, and Agra Cantonment stations.
c) Sealdah Duronto Express
Highest speed: 130 km/h (81mi/h)
Runs between: Sealdah and New DelhiUSP: First Duronto Express with the aim to provide fastest access and luxury amenities to the passengers at low cost than other superfast trains.
Cities covered: Sealdah, Dhanbad Junction, Mughalsarai Junction, Kanpur Central and New Delhi.
d) Kanpur Reverse Shatabdi
Highest speed: 140 km/h (87mi/h)
Runs between: Kanpur and New DelhiUSP: Budget fare as compared to other superfast trains; ticket fare includes morning/evening snacks, tea and coffee are served.
Cities covered: Kanpur, Etawah, New Delhi
e) Howrah Rajdhani Express
Highest speed: 130 km/h (81mi/h)
Runs between: Howrah and New DelhiUSP: Most prestigious Rajdhani class train which was also the first fully air-conditioned train of India and also the first Wi-Fi enabled train.
Cities covered: Howrah, Barddhaman, Madhupur, Jasidih, Patna, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, Allahabad, Kanpur, New Delhi.
To add it as a conclusion, Vande Bharat train does excel in speed, amenities, facilities and overall comfort and luxury. If you are willing to visit Vaishno Devi soon, don’t give it a second thought and head off to book tickets for the latest craze of rails – all thanks to the Indian Railways.
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