With up to 15 Vande Bharat Express trains currently operating across the nation, the Ministry of Railways is currently developing a plan to connect major cities with short distances via a metro rail network.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that the train will be ready by December 2023. “Vande Metro is being built with the concept that trains can run at a very high frequency i.e. 4 or 5 times a day in cities with a distance of fewer than 100 kilometres, which is very comfortable and affordable. The train will be ready by December.”
He also stated that the plan to run Vande Bharat Metro has been prepared based on the response received by Vande Bharat, adding that it will allow the job seekers and students to get world-class transport from one city to another with saving time.
“Along with this, it will also help in reducing the pressure of congestion on local trains,” he informed.
Sharing the idea of a High-Speed Test Track, which has been made for the first time to speed up the construction of high-speed trains, the Railways Minister said, “In the last nine years, Prime Minister Modi has made many sectors a hub of exports. Be it defence, IT, electronics, today India has emerged as a big exporter in all these sectors”.
He asserted that in order for India to become a significant railway exporter, testing tracks must be built.
The test track consists of several facilities wherein the train and the signalling system are tested on different parameters. Work on the test track is progressing at a fast pace. It will benefit a lot. Today, Vande Bharat is being discussed a lot and in the coming times, India will emerge as its exporter. For this, it is necessary that all the work of testing and testing will be on the test track,” he added.
Notably, a new BG Dedicated Test Track of 59 Km is being developed between Gudha-ThathanaMithri in Jodhpur Division (about 70 Km from Jaipur) in Rajasthan. India will be the first country to have comprehensive testing facilities for rolling stocks.
The project includes a mainline (23 Km), a High-speed loop at Gudha (13 Km), an Accelerated testing loop at Nawa (3 Km) and a curve testing loop at Mithri (20) Km).