Vande Bharat Trains Fail To Deliver Speed As Promised
Context:
From Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed off five more Vande Bharat Express trains, bringing the total number of these trains in service to 23. Although they are intended to go between 110 and 130 kph, their typical running speed is between 63 and 96 kph.
Vande Bharat express
- India’s first indigenous semi-high-speed train debuted in February 2019. The train can reach a top speed of 160 km/h.
- The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai designed and produced it in-house to provide customers with a fresh travel experience with improved facilities and services.
- Upgrading maintenance technologies and processes, improving the productivity and performance of all railway assets and personnel, and improving reliability, availability, utilisation, and efficiency are all objectives.
Vande Bharat 2.0
- Vande Bharat Express’s new avatar will debut in September 2022. It has more advanced features than its predecessor.
- The train can reach a top speed of 180 kilometres per hour. It Weighs 392 tonnes as opposed to 430 tonnes previously.
- The train is equipped with enhanced safety features such as the KAVACH (Train Collision Avoidance System), greater security, and improved fire safety measures.
- Passengers will benefit from improved amenities such as improved riding comfort, larger LCD TVs, a passenger information and communication system, more energy-efficient ACs, side recliner seat capability, bio vacuum toilets with touch-free amenities and wifi content on demand.
- Other improvements include improved heat ventilation and air conditioning control, improved floodproofing, superior traction motor ventilation, and improved acceleration and deceleration.
- Overall, a step towards the Indian Railways’ goal of providing passengers with an efficient, reliable, and comfortable travel experience, and an outstanding example of the success of the ‘Make in India’ programme.
The performances of Vande Bharat
- Five more Vande Bharat Express trains were hailed off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raising the total number of operating trains to 23.
- Although these trains are intended to travel at speeds between 110 and 130 kph, their typical running speeds fall between 63 and 96 kph.
- The Vande Bharat Express travels are far longer than necessary as a result of the slower average speeds, which have caused lengthier journey times than anticipated.
- The Vande Bharat Express’s average speed on the Ranchi-Patna line is only 63 mph, according to reports. If the train ran at its maximum speed, the 379 km journey, which currently takes six hours, could be completed in three hours.
- Similarly to this, the average speed on the Mumbai-Shirdi road is 64 km. The 5.25-hour journey might be shaved off by two hours if the train were to operate at its top speed of 110 mph.
- Travel times of more than seven to eight hours have been caused by the slower speeds on several routes. For instance, travelling at an average pace of 80 kmph over the 662-kilometre distance between Secunderabad and Tirupati takes 8.15 hours.
- Some customers have voiced their preference for lengthier overnight trips, arguing that sleeper trains rather than chair cars should be used for trips longer than eight hours.
- The New Delhi-Varanasi line is currently the quickest of the 23 Vande Bharat trains, with an average speed of 96 kmph and a top speed of 130 kmph. It travels 759 kilometres in eight hours.
