The Railway Minister of India Ashwini Vaishnaw has recently shared some of the key facilities which are going to be provided in the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express. This new addition to Indian Railway is on the way to revolutionize the concept of overnight journey focusing on comforts, safety and architecture. These details were revealed by the minister on the social media platform X (formerly twitter) and the public gets an extended first glance at this cree innovative train.
🚄 Train journey redefined with comfort, safety and innovation.✨
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) September 2, 2024
Vande Bharat Sleeper Express, features we must know!🧵👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/zXgusgLKLi
Designed for Overnight Journeys
The Vande Bharat Sleeper Express is then designed for long-distance night operations with 16 coaches for optimum comfort in a range of 800 to 1,200 kilometers. This modern train comprises of 11 AC Three-Tier Coaches, 4 AC Two-Tier Coaches and 1 AC First Class Coach with a total passenger berths available of 823. The train can go up to a speed of 160 Km / H, and therefore it is one of the fastest means of transport for travellers.
This is one of the major positive aspects as it is expected that the fares are going to be at par with the Rajdhani Express, thus giving the service a positive shot in terms of the preferred mode of transport for faster and comfortable journey.
Advanced Comfort Features
The interiors of the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express have been shaped in a manner to ensure that comfort of the passengers is achieved. The features that are available in each of the custom-built driving trailer coaches include lighting, universal serial bus charging ports, and luggage capacity. It is also possible to order food on the train with large, medium and small pantries offering fresh meals to the passengers. The passengers get an added bonus of eating directly from the meal tables that are fixed or foldable hence the experience.
To the pet owners, the train has been made pet friendly with the inclusion of a special dog box. All these features, the minister noted, are designed to make long distance travel as comfortable as possible for all passengers.
Focus on Safety
The issue of safety is what has been given a priority in construction of the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express. The train has an exclusive aerodynamic cab which has been designed to take impacts up to 36 km per hour and has both crash buffers and anti-climbers. A Black Box system is utilized to record the data which feeds safety analysis in real-time. This has been done through the introduction of the Vigilance Control Device that the driver has to use each one minute they are on the road. For emergencies the Fire Detection System, HL3 is installed and also the safety compliance of the building is 15 minutes.
The Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning have also been improved to meet the need of air conditioning in all the coaches uniformly without any fluctuations required for the entire journey. For the lavatory, passengers can select from 51 comfort designed toilets of Euro, Oriental and a combination of both styles. Foods and beverages served to passengers will also be more special than those to be served to normal passengers, this is because first class passengers will be privileged to have special comforts like shower facilities.
There are special provision of berths and toilets for the disabled so that they can also travel comfortably. High hygiene standards are kept through the use of bio-digester tanks that need bacteria replacement every six months. Each of a coach is also equipped with 30-litre garbage compactors to avoid Malaria.
Trial Phase and Future Plans
The Vande Bharat Sleeper Express is in the trial and testing phase and more of the same is expected in the coming ten days. After the train prototypes they have undergone these very tough tests, the train is believed to go into public use in the next three months. Manufacturing will then occur for two to three trains per month as the company’s plan proceeds.
Minister Vaishnaw recently visited the manufacturing of new train to BEML facility in Bengaluru where he assured them regarding the project.
The launch of the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express is a welcome addition in the railway travel in India which is designed to provide passengers with safer, comfortable and faster ride on the long distance trains.
