Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the third Indian-made high-speed train in his home state of Gujarat on Friday as part of plans to modernize the country’s rail network. New Delhi plans to run 75 Vande Bharat Express trains by August 2023 to connect all major industrial and commercial cities. The trains have a maximum speed of 160 km/h.
The average speed of Indian trains has remained around 50 km/h and freight trains around 25 km/h, which has hit the revenue of state railways, according to a report by the National Auditor in April. The 16-coach Vande Express with a capacity of 1,128 passengers will give passengers a better experience even compared to flying, Modi said after the launch.
The latest train – with updated passenger amenities compared to the previous two launches – will connect India’s financial capital Mumbai with Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat state, a senior railway official said. Pathik Patwari, President, Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, welcomed the launch. “Many entrepreneurs will start who do not travel much by train due to the long travel time
The weight of the latest train has been reduced by 38 tons from the earlier versions to 392 tons, making for a more comfortable ride and can continue to operate in two feet of water, officials said. A spokesman for the Integrated Coach Factory, Chennai, which built the train, told Reuters it was fully designed in India, with 80% local materials, and would cost about 11 billion rupees ($135 million).
He said the state-run factory soon aims to produce at least 27 units by March 2023, in addition to high-speed freight trains. India’s railways, which saw passenger revenue fall during two years of the pandemic, is on track for a recovery, with total revenue rising 37% year-on-year to 964.3 billion rupees ($11.82 billion) in the April-August period.
