Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday will virtually flag off three new Vande Bharat trains as part of the ‘Make in India’ and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' visions. The state-of-the-art Vande Bharat Express trains will improve the connectivity on three routes -- Meerut-Lucknow; Madurai-Bengaluru; and Chennai-Nagercoil, according to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
As per the Ministry, the Meerut City-Lucknow Vande Bharat will help passengers save around one hour in comparison to the current fastest train between the two cities. Likewise, the Chennai Egmore-Nagercoil and Madurai-Bengaluru Vande Bharat trains will cover the journey saving more than two hours and around 90 minutes, respectively, it said.
These Vande Bharat trains aim to provide people with world-class means to travel with speed and comfort, catering to three states - Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. The introduction of these new trains will herald a new standard of rail service to meet the needs of regular travellers, professionals, and business and student communities in immense measure, the PMO said.
About Vande Bharat Trains
India’s first-ever indigenously designed and manufactured, semi-high speed Vande Bharat trains provide a modern and comfortable rail travel experience to the passengers. These trains have a faster acceleration and semi-high speed operation up to 160 KMPH. They are fitted with the anti-collision device KAVACH and have a fully-sealed gangway for free passenger movement with automatic plug doors.
“Indian Railways has introduced as many as 772 additional train services, including 100 Vande Bharat trains, on its network from 2019-2020 to 2023-2024,” Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Rajya Sabha earlier this month. A total of Rs 1,343.72 crore has been utilised so far for manufacturing Vande Bharat trains.
These trains have been introduced to provide a better travel experience to the passengers, with modern coaches having enhanced safety features and amenities, the Railway Minister said.
"To cater to the travelling needs of different segments of passengers, Indian Railways introduces and operates different types of services viz. express trains, superfast trains, passenger/MEMU/DEMU trains and suburban services. Introduction of train services is an ongoing process of the Indian Railways subject to traffic justification, operational feasibility, and availability of resources,” he added.