Sources in the SWR said 90 percent of the track had been improved to run the train at a speed of 110 kilometres per hour.
Vande Bharat Express.
The South Western Railway conducted a trial run of the Vande Bharat Express between Bengaluru and Dharwad on Monday, 19 June.
The Railway authorities have planned to dedicate the train to the public on 26 June, according to top officials of the South Western Railway (SWR).
The trial run of the Vande Bharat Express — comprising eight coaches — departed from Bengaluru at 5.45 am.
The return journey of the semi-high-speed luxury train from Dharwad started at 1.15 pm and would reach Bengaluru at 8.10 pm.
During the trial run, the train had three brief halts at Yesvantpur, Davangere, and Hubballi.
Sources in the SWR said 90 percent of the track had been improved to run the train at a speed of 110 kilometres per hour (kmph).
“Out of the 489-km track, 386 km are fit for 110-kmph speed. The rest will be upgraded by July this year,” a senior Railway official told PTI.
Visuals of Trial Run of #VandeBharat trainset that left KSR Bengaluru for Dharwad, this morning.#VandeBharatExpress
.@RailMinIndia .@drmsbc .@drmubl pic.twitter.com/M7nGqlGBdM— South Western Railway (@SWRRLY) June 19, 2023
After Mysuru-Chennai, this will be the second Vande Bharat Express in Karnataka, which will run between Bengaluru and Dharwad.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off South India’s first Vande Bharat Express — plying between Chennai and Mysuru via Bengaluru — on 11 November last year.
“This isn’t just a new train but new India’s new identity,” said Modi on the occasion, adding that India wants to run fast today.
He added that more than 400 Vande Bharat trains and Vistadome coaches over the next 10 years would reform Indian Railways and become its identity.
The Vande Bharat trains are lighter and have a faster top speed. These trains take about 52 seconds to accelerate to 100 kmph and can reach a maximum speed of 160 kmph.
The semi-high-speed trains are equipped with advanced state-of-the-art safety features, including an anti-collision system and an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System called KAVACH.
It also has four emergency windows for each coach, four platform side cameras instead of just two, and rearward cameras outside the coach. The disaster lights in the coaches come with a battery backup of three hours.
Furthermore, it offers an on-demand Wi-Fi connectivity-enabled infotainment system, and a 32-inch LCD screen in every coach.
As per the Ministry of Railways, the air inside the train gets filtered through a photo-catalytic ultraviolet purification system. It filters and cleans the air of germs, bacteria, viruses, etc., to the extent of 99 percent.
It also provides Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC), and sliding footsteps in coaches, for a better passenger experience and saves about 30 percent on electricity with its advanced regenerative braking system.
The Vande Bharat train has 16 coaches, with a total seating capacity of 1,128 passengers. It offers two spacious options — AC Chair Car (CC) and Executive Chair Car (EC). While all seats are recliners, the executive coaches will experience the added feature of 360-degree rotating seats.
(With PTI inputs)
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