Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off Gandhinagar- Mumbai Vande Bharat Express at Gandhinagar station and said that the train will change the landscape of Indian Railways.
“Today is a very big day for 21st century India, for urban connectivity and for a self-reliant India… Our rail network is being developed rapidly for New India. The Vande Bharat train can go up to 100 kmph in just 52 seconds,” the Prime Minister said addressing the gathering.
“Vande Bharat, which reaches the speed of 180 km per hour, will change the landscape of Indian Railways and will give it a new direction… With the changing times and needs, we have to also keep improving our transportation. Creating seamless connectivity in our cities is very crucial,” he added.
The Prime Minister inspected the train coaches of the Vande Bharat Express 2.0 and took stock of the onboard facilities.
Modi also inspected the control centre of the locomotive engine of Vande Bharat Express 2.0.
The Prime Minister also travelled on the train from Gandhinagar to Kalupur Railway Station.
During the travel, the Prime Minister also interacted with his co-passengers including those from the family members of Railways staff, women entrepreneurs and researchers and youngsters.
He also interacted with workers, engineers and other staff who toiled to make Vande Bharat trains a shining success.
Vande Bharat Express 2.0 between Gandhinagar and Mumbai is going to be a game changer and will boost connectivity between the two business hubs of India, the PMO said.
It will enable business owners from Gujarat to travel to Mumbai and vice versa without bearing the brunt of high-cost airline tickets while availing facilities that are available on air, the PMO added.
One-way travel time of Vande Bharat Express 2.0 from Gandhinagar to Mumbai is estimated at around 6-7 hours.
The PMO further said that Vande Bharat Express 2.0 offers a myriad of superior and aircraft-like travelling experiences.
It is equipped with advanced state-of-the-art safety features including an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System – Kavach
Vande Bharat 2.0 will be equipped with more advancements and improved features such as reaching the speed of 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in just 52 seconds, and a maximum speed up to 180 kilometres per hour.
The improved Vande Bharat Express will weigh 392 tons when compared to the previous version of 430 tons.
It will also have a Wi-Fi content on-demand facility. Every coach is equipped with 32” screens providing passenger information and infotainment compared to 24” in the previous version.
Vande Bharat Express is also going to be environment friendly as the ACs will be 15 per cent more energy efficient.
With dust-free clean air cooling of the traction motor, the travel will become more comfortable. Side recliner seat facility which was provided only to Executive Class passengers earlier will now be made available for all classes, the PMO said.
Executive Coaches have the added feature of 180-degree rotating seats
In the new design of Vande Bharat Express, a photo-catalytic ultraviolet air purification system is installed in the Roof-Mounted Package Unit (RMPU) for air purification.
As recommended by Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), Chandigarh, this system is designed and installed on both ends of RMPU to filter and clean the air free from germs, bacteria, viruses etc. coming through fresh air and return air.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, Railways Minister Ashvini Vaishnav and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri.
