NEW DELHI : Indian Railways will launch indigenously designed and developed Vande Metro trains and run more Amrit Bharat trains, officials aware of the matter said on Saturday.
“The Vande Metro train will have a very swift run between one major city to another covering a shorter distance of nearly 100 to 150 kms. Designed on the concept of European regional train, the first new train set of Vande Metro is likely to roll out from the railway manufacturing unit by July this year for test run on a selected route,” an official of the railway ministry said, wishing not to be named.
Non-AC high-speed Amrit Bharat passenger trains will run from one state to another covering a longer distance of over 1,000 kms. “Orders for the manufacture of 50 Amrit Bharat trains, out of a target of running at least 400 in next few years, have been placed with the manufacturing units concerned,” a senior railway ministry official said.
“The Vande Metro train has been designed in such a way that it would bring a new kind of revolution in metro journey because of its technically advanced swift acceleration-driven movement and comfortable accommodating facilities form one city to another situated within a distance of 100 to 250 kms,” the official said.
“The first train set of Vande Metro, akin to the European concept of regional rail connectivity, will cater to intercity passenger services covering a distance of 100 to 250 kms at the maximum speed of 120-130 kmph,” the official said.
The prototype of first Vande Metro train set will have initially 12 air-conditioned coaches. “After successful test run of Vande Metro train, the ministry will run more such trains in its 100 days of action plan from July this year onwards,” the official said.
The ministry is also planning to roll out 1,000 Vande sleeper trains in next 5 years connecting all cities, he said.
Presently two sets of Amrit Bharat trains, connecting Darbhanga-Ayodhya-Anand Vihar terminal and Malda -Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminus (Bengaluru), are operational.