The train which left Chennai at 5.40 am reached Coimbatore at 11.18 am, taking a total journey time of five hours and 38 minutes.
Trial run of Vande Bharat Express from Chennai to Coimbatore conducted. (Screengrab)
The Vande Bharat Express, which was on a trial run from Chennai to Coimbatore, reached its destination 22 minutes ahead of its scheduled time of 11.40 am on Thursday, 30 March, railway officials said.
The train, which left Chennai at 5.40 am, reached Coimbatore at 11.18 am, taking a total journey time of five hours and 38 minutes.
The trial run was carried out successfully and the train left on its return journey from Coimbatore at 12.24 pm with railway officials, including Salem Railway Division Manager Pankaj Kumar Sinha, on board, sources said.
The train had eight coaches, including one executive coach, and 530 seats in all.
The scheduled arrival and departure timings of the train would be decided after the formal inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled on 8 April, the officials said.
Welcoming the train, various industrial and trade bodies said it would help increase trade, and sought a similar train to Thiruvananthapuram from Coimbatore, covering Palani, Tirunelveli and Madurai.
This is the third Vande Bharat Express in south India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off South India’s first Vande Bharat Express on 11 November from KSR Bengaluru City Junction in Karnataka. It runs from Mysuru to Chennai.
The Secunderabad-Vizag Vande Bharat Express was flagged off virtually by Prime Minister Modi on 15 January.
Southern Railway conducting a trial run of #VandeBharatExpress Rake from Puratchithalaivar Dr. MGR Chennai Central Railway station to Coimbatore.@PMOIndia @narendramodi @AshwiniVaishnaw @DarshanaJardosh @raosahebdanve @RailMinIndia @GMSRailway @DrmChennai @SalemDRM @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/5hCHVgkea2
— PIB in Tamil Nadu (@pibchennai) March 30, 2023
The Vande Bharat trains are lighter and have a faster top speed, but average speeds have not been remarkably higher than other trains like the Shatabdi. These trains take about 52 seconds to accelerate to 100 km/h and can reach a maximum speed of 180 km/h.
The semi-high-speed train is 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 back-up of three hours.
Furthermore, it offers 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 saveing 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.
The seats are also equipped with Braille lettering and texts for specially-abled passengers. Some coaches of the Vande Bharat Express train will also have spaces to park wheelchairs so that the disabled do not face any kind of difficulty.
(With PTI inputs)
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