5th Vande Bharat Express train, first in South India, to start services from November 11

The 5th edition of the high-speed Vande Bharat Express train will launch on November 11. It will be the first such indigenously-built high-speed rail in the southern part of India. The train will run on the Chennai-Mysore route.

Before that, Indian Railways on Monday started the trial run of the train from Chennai`s MG Ramachandran Central Railway station. The train will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 11. The first Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off on February 15, 2019, on the New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route.

Trial run of South India's first ChennaiMysore Vande Bharat Express started from Chennai MG Ramachandran Central Railway station today.
Honble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji to inaugurate the 5th edition of Vande Bharat Express train on November 11. @RailMinIndia pic.twitter.com/GKZUkOSdpU

— Office of Raosaheb Patil Danve (@raosaheboffice) November 7, 2022

What is unique about Vande Bharat Express?

Speed, safety, and service are the hallmarks of this train. Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, a Railways Production unit, has been the force behind the system integration of these rails in just 18 months.

Vande Bharat Express speed

The Vande Bharat Express can run up to a maximum speed of 160 kmph and has travel classes like Shatabdi Train but with a better travel experience for passengers.

This train is the next major leap for Indian Railways in terms of speed and convenience. It can achieve high speeds due to faster acceleration and deceleration and will reduce journey time by 25 percent to 45 percent.

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Inside the Vande Bharat Express

Besides, all coaches are equipped with automatic doors; a GPS-based audio-visual passenger information system, onboard hotspot Wi-Fi for entertainment purposes, and very comfortable seating. The executive class also has rotating chairs.

All toilets are bio-vacuum type. The lighting is dual mode -- diffused for general illumination and personal for every seat.

The side recliner seat facility which is being provided to Executive Class passengers will now be made available for all classes. The Executive Coaches have the added feature of 180-degree rotating seats. The train will also have bio-vacuum toilets with touch-free amenities.

Every coach has a pantry with facilities to serve hot meals and hot and cold beverages. The insulation is meant to keep heat and noise to very low levels for additional passenger comfort. Each Vande Bharat Express has a total seating capacity of 1,128 passengers

Safety aspects

The Vande Bharat 2.0 trains have the KAVACH (Train Collision Avoidance System) for enhanced safety in operations. There will be improved security with four emergency windows added in every coach. There will be four platform side cameras including rearview cameras outside the coach instead of two earlier.

The new coaches have Level-II safety integration certification for better train control. The Vande Bharat 2.0 will also have better fire safety measures with Aerosol based fire detection and suppression system in all electrical cubicles and toilets.

(With inputs from ANI)