At present, Indian Railways operates 50 Vande Bharat train services on 25 routes. Recently a new colour scheme of orange and grey was also revealed for the Vande Bharat trains when Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. Vaishnaw had announced that the Vande Bharat trains under production at the ICF will come with 25 enhancements. We take a look at the full list:
Vande Bharat Express: Full list of 25 improvements
- Optimization of hardness of cushion
- Increase in seat reclining angle
- Increase in wash basin depth to avoid splashing of water in lavatories
- Improved accessibility of mobile charging point under the seats
- Colour of seat in Executive Chair Car changed from red to “pleasant blue”
- Extended foot rest for seats in Executive Chair Car
- Provision of securing point for wheelchairs of Divyangjan passengers in Driving Trailer coaches where provision for Divyangjan seat is provided
- Lighting in toilets improved from 1.5 watts to 2.5 watts
- Improved roller blind fabric with more tear strength with less transparency
- Water tap aerator to better water flow control
- Magazine bags for Executive Chair Car class end seats as well
- Toilet handle given additional bend for improved grip
- Standardized colours for toilet panels with similar colours all over
- Improved hammer box cover for easy access in case of emergency
- Borderless emergency talk back unit (to interact with driver in case of emergency) to match with panel background
- Improved aerosol based fire detection and suppression system inside the coaches
- Improved air tightness for better air conditioning with insulation over panels
- Smooth touch controls for luggage rack lights by change from resistive touch to capacitive touch
- Modified panels of single piece construction of FRP panels to improve aesthetics inside the coaches
- Improved upper trim panel for better aesthetics and firmness of panels in coaches
- Hatch doors for electrical maintenance doors in trailer coaches for easy maintenance
- Interchange of emergency stop push button in driver control panel for easy operation and access for loco pilot
- Hinged transparent door assembly for the fire extinguishers in coaches to have better visibility in case of emergency
- Uniform coloured driver desk in Driving Trailer Coaches for better visibility and aesthetics
- High Rise pantographs in areas where the landscape and OHE are in higher position
Even as it improves the AC Chair Car Vande Bharat trains, Indian Railways is looking to roll out the sleeper variant of this premium train as well. Multiple projects are in works for the sleeper variant – ICF is looking to roll out a prototype some time next year, Russia’s TMH and India’s RVNL have signed an agreement to manufacture 120 sleeper variants of Vande Bharat, 80 more will be made by BHEL-Titagarh and a project for making aluminium train sets is also in the works.
Watch 25 improvements have been done in Vande Bharat Trains: Ashwini Vaishnaw