Who is designing the 400 trains? Where will they be manufactured? What is special about them?
the story So Far: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed in the Union Budget for 2022-2023 Development and construction of 400 new Vande Bharat trains in the next three years. In her speech, Ms Sitharaman said that these will be the “new generation” trains with better energy efficiency and passenger ride experience.
What is this?
Vande Bharat Train is an indigenously designed and manufactured semi high speed, self-propelled train which is touted as the next big leap for Indian Railways in terms of speed and passenger convenience since the introduction of Rajdhani trains. Dubbed as Train 18 during the development phase, these trains operated without locomotives and were based on a propulsion system called Distributed Traction Power Technology, by which each car in the train set is driven. Vande Bharat coaches include passenger amenities including on-board WiFi entertainment, GPS based passenger information system, CCTV, automatic doors in all coaches, revolving chairs and bio-vacuum type toilets in the aircraft.
Read also | 102 Vande Bharat trains to be operational by March 2024
The first Vande Bharat was manufactured by Integral Coach Factory (ICF), ChennaiIn about 18 months as part of the ‘Make in India’ program at a cost of about ₹100 crore. The present version of the train consists of 14 ordinary chair cars along with 16 coaches and two executive class chair cars. The train has a passenger capacity of over 1,100 people. It can achieve a maximum speed of 160 kmph Due to faster acceleration and deceleration, reduces travel time by 25% to 45%. It also has an intelligent braking system with power regeneration for better energy efficiency making it cost, energy and environment efficient. Vande Bharat was India’s first attempt at adapting train set technology as compared to conventional systems of passenger coaches hauled by separate locomotives. According to Indian Railways, the train set configuration though complex, is faster, easier to maintain, consumes less energy, and has greater flexibility in train operation.
How many Vande Bharat trains does the Railways currently operate?
Presently, two Vande Bharat Express are operational – one between New Delhi and Varanasi and the other between New Delhi to Katra. Subsequently, the Railways had awarded contracts worth over Rs 2,000 crore to make 44 more such trains. However, the first tender was canceled and re-issued to align with the ‘Make in India’ policy. For the first time, a minimum of 75% of the total value of the tender was required to be tendered for local materials. In August 2020, Hyderabad-based Medha Servo Drives Ltd won the contract to design and manufacture the propulsion, control and other equipment required to manufacture 44 train sets. Railways had announced that the rake or train set would be manufactured at its three production units – 24 rakes at ICF, Chennai and 10 rakes at RCF Kapurthala and Modern Coach Factory, Rae Bareli. On the delivery schedule of these rakes, Railways had stated that the first two prototype rakes would be delivered in 20 months (or by March-April 2022), thereafter on successful commissioning, the firm would deliver an average of six rakes per quarter. ,
What is the current status of the programme?
Speaking to reporters after the budget announcement, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that the designing for version 2.0 of these trains has been completed and trials are expected to start from April, while the serial production for these rakes will start by September. likely to happen. On 400 new trains, Mr Vaishnav said the announcement has given the Railways a target to come up with an even better version. The design updates on the upcoming trains will focus on the safety and comfort of the passengers, including lower noise and vibration levels. Railways is said to be looking at using aluminum instead of steel in the manufacture of coaches as it would help in making the trains much lighter, thereby improving energy efficiency and making trains faster.
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