Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday unveiled the prototype version of the Vande Bharat sleeper coach in Bengaluru at the BEML’s facility.
The coach will undergo rigorous trials and tests in 10 days before rolling it out on the track for further testing, Vaishnaw told reporters.
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Saturday 02 Nov. 2024
The train is expected to be open for passenger operation in the next three months, he added.
Vaishnaw said the Railways is working on four configurations — Vande Bharat chair cars, Vande Bharat sleeper cars, Vande Bharat Metro cars and Amrit Bharat — which will change the way people travel.
The oxygen level inside the train and virus protection, a lesson learnt from COVID-19 pandemic, are added features of the train.
Once the prototypes of Vande Bharat sleeper cars are properly tested, then the series of production will start.
On the complaints about poor food quality being served in Vande Bharat, the minister said the Indian Railways serve 13 lakh meals a day and the complaints are less than 0.01. “But still we are very, very concerned about the complaints which come and we have taken very strong action against the caterers as well as the suppliers.”
According to the minister, the Vande Bharat sleeper train with 16 coaches is meant for overnight journeys and will cover 800 km to 1,200 km.
