In a major move to enhance connectivity on three routes — Meerut-Lucknow; Madurai-Bengaluru; and Chennai-Nagercoil — besides reducing the commuting time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off three new Vande Bharat trains virtually on Saturday. PM Modi flagged off three state-of-the-art Vande Bharat Express trains at 12:30 P.M. for serving the three states of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
This would help passengers save close to an hour on the Meerut City-Lucknow Vande Bharat as compared to the fastest train which runs between the two cities. Equally, the Chennai Egmore-Nagercoil and Madurai-Bengaluru Vande Bharat trains would cover the journey in a little over two hours and an hour and a half, respectively.
"The introduction of these new and fast trains will herald a new standard of rail service to meet the needs of regular travellers, professionals, and business and student communities in immense measure," the PMO said. India's first-ever indigenously designed and manufactured, semi-high speed Vande Bharat trains offer a state-of-the-art and pleasant rail travel experience to passengers. The Vande Bharat trains have faster acceleration and semi-high speed operation up to 160 KMPH. They are fitted with anti-collision device KAVACH and a fully sealed gangway for free passenger movement with automatic plug doors.
"Indian Railways has indeed introduced as many as 772 additional train services, including 100 Vande Bharat trains, on its network from 2019-2020 to 2023-2024," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Rajya Sabha earlier this month. The total funds used so far for the manufacture of Vande Bharat trains are Rs 1,343.72 crore. These trains have been brought in to provide a better travel experience for passengers. The modern coaches have increased safety features and amenities, the Railway Minister said.
To facilitate the travelling needs of different segments of passengers, Indian Railways introduce and operate different types of services, viz, express trains, superfast trains, passenger/ MEMU/ DEMU trains, and suburban services. Introduction of train services is a continuous process of the Indian Railways subject to traffic justification, operational feasibility, and availability of resources," he added.
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