In August 2022, the Indian Railways will introduce an improved second version of the semi-high-speed trains, according to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who noted that the two Vande Bharat trains introduced in 2019 had already covered 14 lakh kilometres and “proven” themselves.
The minister said, “The idea for Vande Bharat trains was provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017 and the first two trains started functioning in 2019.” He was speaking to reporters at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) in Gandhinagar. Both trains have now covered 14 lakh kilometres. 75 more trains that are in production were approved last year.
The Vande Bharat Express travels between New Delhi and Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Katra as well as between New Delhi and Varanasi on Indian Railways.
Vaishnaw said the Vande Bharat trains currently run at 160 kilometres per hour, the second version will touch 180 kilometres per hour, and the third version of the train will travel at 220 kilometres per hour. He added that the second and third versions of the Vande Bharat trains will use better technology.
In August 2022, he stated, “We will begin the roll out of Vande Bharat-2 trains, or the second iteration of the trains,” and he added that five to six trains will be introduced each month after the debut. Vaishnaw said, “The second iteration of Vande Bharat will include air springs (between the coach and the wheels) and will greatly enhance the riding quality.
After the Indian Railways unveiled the first batch of 75 Vande Bharat trains, the minister stated that more will follow. A third version of the Vande Bharat trains would subsequently be implemented, he continued, out of the 400 trains that are being suggested.
The Railway Minister stated that Vande Bharat trains will operate on new routes and in some locations, they will replace existing trains while at EDII for a discussion on start-ups. “Bullet train travels from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in 55 seconds. These trains include a comparable technology that was created in India. The time it takes to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h is merely 54 seconds. It accelerates quickly. It also has excellent shock absorbers, he continued.
Vaishnaw stated that the construction of the bullet train will accelerate once a new Maharashtra administration is in place. “The previous Maharashtra government was opposed to this project. However, progress will be made now that the people have replaced the administration, he said.
“The effort to build a bullet train is moving quite well. As of now, pillars have been constructed throughout 70 kilometres of the Vapi-Ahmedabad leg of the highway. As soon as we acquired the land, we started working on this segment. In this route, 160 kilometres have had pillar foundations put, according to him, and work is also ongoing on 8–9 bridges and stations.
“By 2026, the first segment of the bullet train between Surat and Billimora is expected to operate. China built the first 113-kilometer segment of a bullet train between Beijing and Tianjing. We have 352 kilometres between Ahmedabad and Vapi,” he remarked.
The minister said that 45 stations have had bids released for construction as part of a vision for the development of 370 stations. He said that the reconstruction has taken into account the lessons learned from the station rebuilding pilot projects in Gandhinagar, Bhopal, and Bengaluru. The 16 stations in Gujarat that will undergo renovations are Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Navsari, Rajkot, Vapi, Bharuch, Bilimora, Anand, Nadiad, Ankleshwar, Udhana, Gandhidham, Palanpur, Jamnagar, and New Bhuj. In addition, a new station building has been built at Vadnagar Station, and a new satellite station being planned near Vadodara is called Chhayapuri.
