The Indian Railways is planning to launch eight-coach variants of the Vande Bharat Metro trains to connect big cities with surrounding satellite towns. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw made the announcement in the post-Budget press conference.
“For making the travelling easier for the passengers of nearby areas of a state, Vande metro trains, completely manufactured in India under the vision of PM Modi, will soon be introduced in the country,” Vaishnaw said.
The new Vande Bharat Metro will be a mini-version of the existing Vande Bharat Express trains. The Metro trains aim to improve connectivity and ease of movement between big cities and nearby towns and communities. The design and production of the Vande Bharat Metro trains are expected to be completed by the end of the year with the output being increased by next year.
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The eight express trains will function like high-speed shuttle trains in order to help students, workers and tradesmen travel faster to big cities for education, job or even leisure. The trains will be designed and produced by the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) and Lucknow-based Research Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO).
The announcement for the Vande Bharat Metro services came after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the highest-ever capital outlay for the Indian Railways at Rs 2.40 lakh crore for the upcoming fiscal. The allocation is Rs 1.03 lakh crore more than the previous allocation and nearly 9 times more than the capital allocation to railways in FY 2013-14.
Vaishnaw also announced that India will be increasing its production of Vande Bharat Express trains, aiming to produce 2-3 trains per week by the end of the next financial year. Among other plans for Indian Railways include a sleeper car variant of the Vande Bharat Express and a fully indigenous hydrogen-fuel train that will be running on heritage circuits in the country.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
