Vande Bharat Express, India’s third semi-high-speed train, is set to run on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor after being tested in the Delhi-Chandigarh sector.
According to people familiar with the development, a formal decision is yet to be made, but the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route is most likely to be approved for the next semi-high-speed train. They said that the route would also be commercially viable for the Indian Railways.
Though costlier as per an estimate a passenger will have to pay over 40 per cent more than the normal fare Vande Bharat Express train aims to provide a totally new travel experience to passengers. Speed, safety and service are the hallmarks of this train.
It can run up to a maximum speed of 160 kmph and has travel classes like Shatabdi Train but with better facilities.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad route is also witnessing the construction of a high-speed rail network for India’s first bullet train project. The third rake of Vande Bharat Express reached Chandigarh on August 18 for the oscillation trial.
The train would undergo various trials for a month or 45 days after which mandatory clearance from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) will be procured.
Vande Bharat Express trains only with seating facility are expected to run on Shatabdi and inter-city routes and those with sleepers would be pressed on the routes of trains like Rajdhani, Duronto and other overnight journeys. The trial speed of Vande Express train will be of 100 to 180 kmph on the specified route.
The safety enhancements in the upgraded Vande Bharat Express trains include the Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) to prevent signal passing at danger (SPAD) cases and unsafe situations arising out of over-speeding and train collisions in station areas.
Last week, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav inspected the third Vande Bharat Express train and handed it over to the RDSO for testing. Since then, the trial process has been on.