Bangalore. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Sunday unveiled the prototype version of the sleeper coach of the Vande Bharat Express at the BEML factory here. Vaishnav told reporters that the coach will be rigorously tested for 10 days before it is run on the tracks for further testing. He said the train is likely to start operating in the next three months.
Vaishnav said, “After Vande Bharat Chair Car, we were working on Vande Bharat Sleeper Car. Its construction is now complete. These trains will be taken out of the BEML establishment for testing today.” The production series will start after the prototype of Vande Bharat Sleeper Coach is properly tested. He said, “We will start the production series after one and a half years. Then practically two to three trains will start operating every month.” The minister said that designing a new train is a very complex task. Many new facilities have been included in the Vande Bharat Sleeper Car.
He said, “We are constantly improving the design of Vande Bharat train. We are learning from experience and improving it. The same principle will be adopted for Vande Bharat Metro as well.” Vaishnav said that the railways is working on four configurations – Vande Bharat Chair Car, Vande Bharat Sleeper Car, Vande Bharat Metro Car and Amrit Bharat – which will change the way people travel. He said that the 16-coach Vande Bharat Sleeper train is for overnight travel and will cover a distance of 800 km to 1,200 km. Additional features of the train are oxygen levels and protection from viruses. These lessons have been taken from the Kovid-19 epidemic.
Vaishnav said, “This will be a train for the middle class and its fare will be equal to Rajdhani Express.” On complaints of poor quality food in Vande Bharat, the minister said that Indian Railways serves 13 lakh food packets daily and the complaints are less than 0.01. He said, “But still we are very concerned about the complaints and we have taken very strict action against the caterers as well as suppliers.” The minister also laid the foundation stone of Vande Bharat Manufacturing Establishment at ‘Bharat Earth Movers Limited’ (BEML) premises.
‘Kavach’ will be implemented rapidly in the country: Railway Minister Vaishnav
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has said that modern technology like indigenously developed anti-collision system ‘Kavach’ will now be implemented rapidly. Vaishnav said this in his welcome speech before Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off three Vande Bharat trains on Saturday. He said that India has chosen the leadership of Prime Minister Modi for the third time, which is decisive and visionary and its impact is visible in every aspect of life including railways.
Vaishnav alleged that a technical organisation like the railways was politicised. He said, “It always lacked technology and investment and nothing changed for decades.” The Railway Minister said, “Prime Minister Modi brought about a massive change in it. Investment in railways increased tenfold. He encouraged us to adopt new technology and most importantly, he changed our mindset.” The minister mentioned various initiatives, highlighting electrification of tracks, introduction of Vande Bharat trains, testing of Vande Metro and implementation of anti-collision system shield.
The ‘Kavach’ system helps in running the train within the specified speed limit by automatically applying brakes in case the loco pilot fails to apply the brakes. This system also helps in running the train safely during bad weather.