Now, Railways to introduce Vande Bharat’ type freight trains. Check details

Indian Railways after introducing the semi-high-speed train Vande Bharat on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route is looking to launch a freight version of the train. Indian Railways according to sources said that with an objective of capturing additional high-value time-sensitive cargo, which is presently being transported through other modes of transport, Indian Railways is planning to introduce super-fast parcel services.

These services are being planned via new 'Freight EMU rolling stock built on the Vande-Bharat platform, the first rake of which is likely to be introduced in service very soon, according to the sources. Some of the salient features of the freight EMU rakes include an operational speed potential of 160 kmph and the rakes are being designed for palletized container transportation with a distributed powering with 50% powering.

The coaches will have 1,800 mm wide automatic sliding plug doors and also equipped with a pneumatically retractable roller floor system with locking arrangements for easy handling of pallets. The total payload will be 264 tonnes for 16 car formation.

Indian Railways planning to introduce these freight trains between Delhi-NCR region and the Mumbai region.

In keeping with the vision of Prime Minister’s vision of "Make in India", the major systems of the train have been designed and built in India. Impact of this train, matching global standards of performance, safety and passenger comfort and yet costing less than half of global prices, has the potential to be a game changer in the global rail business.

Earlier, last month Vande Bharat Express 2.0 between Gandhinagar and Mumbai was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 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. 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.