Vande Bharat Sleeper Trains Starting Soon
Indian Railways is set to introduce Vande Bharat sleeper coaches with improved features for faster and more comfortable overnight travel by 2024.
Indian Railway’s first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15th February 2019. It runs between New Delhi and Varanasi. Manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, the Vande Bharat trains are a symbol of the 'Make-In-India' initiative and showcases India's engineering prowess. The Vande Bharat trains are high speed trains, having airline style seating arrangements, rotatable seats for comfort and convenience. The train also offers onboard catering, large windows, CCTV cameras and other high-end facilities. Vande Bharat Express trains run on more than 30 routes, however, these have only seating facilities and no sleeper trains were available. Now, in a good news the Indian Railways is finally set to introduce Vande Bharat sleeper coaches. Union Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, shared images of the concept train coaches on social media. The new trains are expected to roll out by 2024 and will provide a faster and more comfortable travel experience for passengers. The Vande Bharat sleeper coaches will be equipped with a number of world-class new features, including wider berths, brighter interiors, spacious toilets, a mini pantry, and advanced safety features. The introduction of Vande Bharat sleeper coaches will allow passengers to travel long distances on high-speed trains overnight. These trains will make travel more attractive and boost the overall ridership (more people will travel by trains) of the railways. Each Vande Bharat Express sleeper train will be designed to achieve speeds of 160 km per hour and have 16 bogies with an approximate capacity to accommodate 887 passengers. Speed, Safety and Service are believed to be the hallmarks of this train. The Indian Railways has introduced the concept for the Vande Bharat trains from 1st October, under which the coaches will be cleaned in just 14 minutes. This concept is taken from Japan’s bullet train model, where the trains are cleaned in seven minutes.
Railway officials said, “We want all the trains to be cleaned in 14 minutes but we are starting with the Vande Bharat as of now. The cleaning staff has not only been trained for over a month to execute this initiative but also have had mock drills.”
