New Delhi: On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off country's first semi-high speed train set Train 18 named as the Vande Bharat Express, from New Delhi Railway station. PM Modi also inspected the facilities that are available in the train and also addressed a gathering.
Railways and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal led the team of officials and media persons aboard the train on its inaugural run on New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route. It will stop at Kanpur and Allahabad where dignitaries and the people will receive it.
The train will cover the distance between New Delhi and Varanasi in 8 hours and will run on all days except Monday and Thursday. Vande Bharat Express has 16 air-conditioned coaches out of which two are executive class coaches. The total seating capacity is 1,128 passengers which is much more than the conventional Shatabdi which has equal number of coaches. One of the best features is that all the electric equipments have been shifted below the coaches and seats in the driving coach as well. Adding up to green India, the train has regenerative braking system in the Vande Bharat Express coaches which can save up to 30 per cent of electrical energy.
Speed, Safety and Service are the hallmarks of this train. Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai which is a Railways Production unit has been the force behind a completely in-house design and manufacture, computer modelling and had worked with a large number of suppliers for integration of system in just 18 months.