Vande Bharat Express

Under the Government’s ambitious Make in India initiative, Train 18, also known as Vande Bharat
Express was launched on 15th of February 2019.The semi-high-speed intercity train took 18 months for
its completion at Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. After being named as Vande Bharat Express on 27 th
of January 2019, the unit cost of the first rake is 100 crores and will go down as the production of the
train increases. Although the train’s press run on 16 th of February 2019 suffered with the jamming of the
brakes, the morning of 17th of February 2019 saw the Train 18’s successful first commercial run.
Operating five days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) a week, the train commences
its journey at 6 a.m. from New Delhi Railway Station and reaches Varanasi Cantt Railway Station, via
Kanpur and Prayagraj, at 2 p.m., covering a distance of 769 kms within a time span of 8 hours. Reducing
the travelling time by 15 percent, the train’s regenerative braking system reduces the electricity cost by
30 percent. Having a speed of 160 kmph the train has outpaced Shatabdi Express, Train 18 contains
automatic doors, bio-vacuum toilets, GPS enabled compartments, Wi-Fi facility and automatic climate
control as well. Train 18’s return journey commences at 3p.m from Varanasi Cantt Railway Station on
the same day and reaches New Delhi Railway Station at 11p.m. With the aim of incorporating sleeper
cars by May 2019, the train consists of 16 passenger cars with 1128 seating capacity in total. Having 52
seats each, there are 2 executive class coaches at the center with a fare of Rs 3300 per seatand with a
capacity of 78, the fare of chair car is Rs 1755 per seat. The driver coach is installed at the end of the
train so as to allow a faster turnaround at each end of the line. Attaining a speed of 180 kmph during its
trials the Vande Bharat Express set a record of the highest speed any train in India has reached during its
trail runs.

With an aim to replace intercity sleeper trains like Rajdhani Express, the Government plans to launch
Train 20 as a sucessor to Vande Bharat Express.