PM aboard Vande Bharat Express after new train flagged off in Gujarat| Top 10
The newly launched Vande Bharat Express train will provide passengers aircraft-like travelling experience and advanced state-of-the-art safety features including Kavach technology.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who is in Gujarat – flagged off the new and upgraded version of Vande Bharat Express from Gandhinagar on Friday. During the launch event which began at 10:30am, Modi took a ride on the train from Gandhinagar to Kalupur railway station in Ahmedabad. Accompanying him were people from different walks of life, including those from the Railways, women entrepreneurs, and youngsters.
The semi-high speed train will connect Gandhinagar and Mumbai – the state capitals of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
“Vande Bharat makes 100 times less noise inside the train, as compared to an airplane... People who are used to travelling on flights will prefer the Vande Bharat train once they get to experience it,” Modi said in Ahmedabad.
Top points on the new Vande Bharat train:
1) The train will begin operations on October 1 and run on all days except Sundays.
2) According to officials, the train will depart from Mumbai Central at 6.10am to reach Gandhinagar at 12.30pm. The return train will depart Gandhinagar Capital station at 2.05pm to reach Mumbai Central at 8.35pm.
3) The train has 16 coaches with a seating capacity of 1,128 passengers and will halt at three stations – Surat, Vadodara, and Ahmedabad – before reaching Gandhinagar Capital station.
4) The newly launched Vande Bharat Express train will provide passengers aircraft-like travelling experience and advanced state-of-the-art safety features including Kavach technology - an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System, an official said.
5) There are reclining seats in all classes of the train- with Executive Coaches having an added feature of 180-degree rotating seats.
6) Divyang-friendly washrooms and seat handle with seat numbers in Braille letters have also been provided, an official was quoted as saying by news agency ANI
7) Other advanced safety measures include platform side cameras outside the coach and rearview cameras.
8) The train also boasts of saving about 30 per cent of electricity with the advanced regenerative braking system.
In any emergency, loco pilot and train guard can easily communicate with each other as well as passengers.
9) Other features include on-demand content with a wifi Facility, three-hour battery backup and GPS systems to make travelling safer and more comfortable.
10) This is the third Vande Bharat train in the country, the other two being run between New Delhi - Varanasi and New Delhi - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra.
(With inputs from bureau, agencies)
