Railways is preparing to launch the sleeper version of Vande Bharat Express soon.
This train will run at a higher speed than Rajdhani Express. The first prototype of Vande Bharat sleeper coach is expected to be ready by March.
Officials said it will be tested in April and the train will be operational by the end of 2025.
“The Vande Bharat sleeper trains, being designed at the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF), will cut travel time by two hours,” a senior official said.
The official further said on condition of anonymity, “The sleeper Vande Bharat train will operate on overnight travel routes. It will run first on either Delhi-Mumbai or Delhi-Howrah.
At the same time, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, “Vande Bharat Sleeper, Amrit Bharat and Namo Bharat trains are changing the experience of passengers.”
The timing of Vande Bharat sleeper trains is also being discussed, the official said. “We are planning to make train travel comfortable for people after spending time in their offices,” the official said.
Another official said the Vande Bharat sleeper trains will have modern interior designs. The official said, “There will be 16 coaches in this train.
Tier, 2 tier and 1AC coaches will be included. ICF and the Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) factory in Bengaluru are manufacturing the new sleeper coats.”
He further said, “Work is being done on the design of berths, air ducts, cable ducts, washrooms. Currently BEML is manufacturing ten such trains for ICF.”
Coaches are made of stainless steel
Vande Bharat coaches are made of stainless steel. Therefore it is light and strong. Its coaches are designed to run at a maximum speed of 160 to 200 kilometers per hour.
The coach has automatic doors, which open like metro doors. Keeping in mind the safety of passengers, the doors open only when the train stops. Vande Bharat coaches are air conditioned.
Onboard WiFi is available. Charging points are provided near each seat to charge mobiles and laptops. It is equipped with a GPS system, through which passengers get information about upcoming stations and other information.
Speed of mail-express trains will also increase
Indian Railways’ Mail-Express train will soon run on the tracks at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour. Now these will be changed as per the standard of Vande Bharat coaches.
Its coaches are designed to run at a maximum speed of 160 to 200 kilometers per hour.
The decades-old iron ICF coaches in the Mail-Express train were designed to run at a speed of 110 kmph, but about 2200 old coaches (ICF) of the Mail-Express train in the Indian Railways fleet are going to be replaced.