Vande Bharat Express

Why in news?

• The Prime Minister flagged off Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express at Gandhinagar station.
• This is being called as ‘Vande Bharat 2.0’, because of certain upgrades it has received over its predecessors, the two existing trains running from Delhi to Varanasi and Katra.

What is Vande Bharat Express?

• Vande Bharat Express also known as Train 18, is an Indian semi-high-speed, intercity, EMU train which is operated by the Indian Railways.
• In Budget 2022, the Finance Minister has announced that 400 Vande Bharat trains will be manufactured in the next three years.
• They are self-propelled trains that do not require an engine. This feature is called a distributed traction power system, which is increasingly becoming the norm the world over for passenger operations.
• Distributed power gives the train higher acceleration and deceleration compared to loco-hauled trains, which take a much longer time to reach top speed or to gradually come to a halt.

Major-upgraded features of Vande Bharat 2.0:

• Speed: It can attain a speed of 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in just 52 seconds and a maximum speed of up to 180 kilometres per hour.
• Weight: It will weigh 392 tons when compared to the previous version of 430 tons.
• Safety Features: The train comes fitted with the automatic anti-collision system Kavach, which the previous trains did not have. Coaches have disaster lights and their battery backup is for three hours, increased from the last one’s one-hour battery backup.
• The train also has a wifi-enabled onboard infotainment system and an LCD display in each coach.
• Air purification: The internal air is filtered through photocatalytic ultraviolet air purification systems with UV lamps which deactivates 99 percent of germs.

Add ons:

• Railways is also looking at making several of these trainsets with aluminium instead of steel. An aluminium body will make each train set around 40-80 tonnes lighter than a current Vande Bharat. This will mean lower consumption of energy as well as better speed potential.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding ‘Vande Bharat Trains’:

1. They are self-propelled trains that do not require an engine

2. It has higher acceleration and deceleration compared to loco-hauled trains

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer