Welcome, Train 18

The Railways should also focus on its structural weaknesses

The engine-less Train 18, formally called the Vande Bharat Express, which was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 15 is a salutary achievement of the Indian Railways. Built at an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore, Train 18 (so named to highlight the year of its manufacture — 2018) is a self-propelled, semi-high speed train that has been manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai under the Make in India scheme. What is remarkable is that it was built in just 18 months, and 80 per cent of the components for the production of the train