‘Coming soon’: Railways minister shares pics of upcoming Vande Bharat sleeper compartment
The Vande Bharat sleeper trains will allow passengers to travel long distances on these high-speed trains overnight.
Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday shared pictures on social media platform X of the upcoming Vande Bharat sleeper trains. “Concept train - Vande Bharat (sleeper version). Coming soon… early 2024”, the minister's caption read.
As seen in the picture, the Vande Bharat sleeper trains will have two and three tier options. The design of the berths is entirely different from those in Rajdhani and other premium trains.
The minister did not specify when will the new sleeper Vande Bharat train start running next year, but an ANI report had claimed that it could be February 2024.
The Vande Bharat sleeper trains will allow passengers to travel long distances on these high-speed trains overnight.
The first Vande Bharat Express, between New Delhi and Varanasi, was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 15, 2019.
Manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, the train set stands as a symbol of the 'Make-In-India' initiative and showcases India's engineering prowess.
Cleaning in 14 minutes
The Indian Railways has introduced the concept for the Vande Bharat trains from October 1, under which the coaches will be cleaned in just 14 minutes. This concept exemplifies Japan’s bullet train model, where the trains are cleaned in seven minutes.
“We want all the trains to be cleaned in 14 minutes but we are starting with the Vande Bharat as of now. A total of four staff would be deployed in every Vande Bharat coach. The cleaning staff has not only been trained for over a month to execute this initiative but also have had mock drills", a senior railway official told HT.
Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the initiative is based on the concept of ‘7 minutes of miracle’ in Japan, where bullet trains are cleaned and made ready. The minister had said the initiative is being undertaken to improve punctuality and turnaround time.
