Page 8 - Vande Bharat Train

BHEL among 5 bidders for deal to manufacture 200 Vande Bharat trains

State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has formed a consortium with Titagarh Wagons and is among five entities which have bid for the mega Rs 58,000 crore contract to manufacture 200 Vande Bharat trains and maintaining them for the next 35 years. Other players in the fray include French railway major Alstom; Medha-Stadler consortium between Swiss railway rolling stock manufacturer Stadler Rail and Hyderabad-based Media Servo Drives; Siemens along with BEML, and Russian rolling stock manufacturer Transmashholding (TMH) along with an Indian firm. Officials said while Rs 26,000 crore is the upfront payment on the delivery of the trains, Rs 32,000 crore will be paid to the winning bidder over a period of 35 years for the maintenance of these trains. The Indian Railways is now evaluating technical bids for the contract. The financial bids will be opened in the next 45 days. According to the tender document, the successful bidder has to produce a prototype of the sleeper class for

Who's the brain behind Vande Bharat?

The third version of semi-high speed Vande Bharat train chugged off from the stable of Integral Coach Factory recently. We caught up with Sudhanshu Mani, the man behind this sophisticated train

Indian Railways invites bids for 200 new rakes of Vande Bharat trains

Ministry of Railways has floated a tender for manufacturing 200 new rakes of new-generation Vande Bharat trains

Alstom, Medha, Siemens in race for Rs 26,000-crore Vande Bharat order

At least 4 of the five bidders have formed JVs for the Rs 26,000-crore order

300-400 new Vande Bharat trains to be announced in upcoming Union Budget

According to a railway ministry official, there will be an announcement for provision of 300-400 new Vande Bharat trains in the Union Budget 2023-24 which will be the highest ever allocation

Target of 475 Vande Bharat trains in 3 years: Railway Minister Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday said that the plan for the production of 475 Vande Bharat trains in the next three years is on track. The minister, speaking at the Times Now Summit, said that Bullet Trains will be fully functional by 2026. On the redevelopment of railway stations, the minister said that master plans for 138 stations have been made, while designs have been finalised for as many as 57 stations. "The target of having 475 Vande Bharat trains...is on track. In the last budget, 400 trains were sanctioned and before that 75 had been sanctioned. We will be achieving the entire target in the coming three years," he said. The minister that Vande Bharat has evoked good interest among many countries and its quality parameters match world-class trains. Replying to a question on safety aspects amid incidents of cattle hits involving Vande Bharat trains, the minister said that the train's 'crumble zones' are designed to absorb the impact, restricting damage to the

Not so fast: Infrastructure woes slow down Vande Bharat trains

Besides cattle run-overs, fencing and track quality reasons for trains moving at an average 83 kmph

Railways to build walls on worst-impacted routes to contain cattle hits

Plans are to build 1,000 km of walls across sections, no change on Vande Bharat nose panel, damage to which brought the issue of cattle hits to the fore

Cattle run over cases: Railways to build walls in worst-affected sections

The Railways will build 1,000 km of boundary walls over the next six months in sections of its network where maximum cases of cattle being run over by trains are recorded, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday. According to official data, cattle run overs affected 200 trains in the first nine days of October. As many as 4,000 trains have been affected so far this year. "We are working seriously on the issue of building boundary walls. We are looking at two different designs. While we have approved one, which is a sturdy wall, over the next five to six months, we plan to build 1,000 km of such walls across sections to determine if the design works," Vaishnaw said. He also stated that conventional boundary walls will not be able to solve the problem of cattle run over but will end up affecting villagers around the area. The minister, however, did not give any information on the material that will be used for building the boundary walls to make them sturdy enough to not

PM flags off south India's first Vande Bharat Express in Bengaluru

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off the inaugural special of south India's first Vande Bharat Express at Krantiveera Sangolli Railway station here. The train connects Mysuru and Chennai via Bengaluru. The Prime Minister also flagged off the 'Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan' train, which is operated by Karnataka's Muzrai Department, under the 'Bharat Gaurav' train policy of Railways. "It will fulfill the dream of numerous travellers intending to undertake Kashi Yatra," according to the South Western Railway. The train offers a eight-day tour package at discounted rates for pilgrims. Official sources said the Government of Karnataka gives cash assistance of Rs 5,000 to the Kashi Vishwanath Yatra pilgrims. This train covers holy places including Varanasi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj.

Railways to invite bids for redevelopment of 4 stations in 3-5 mths: Report

The stations are Anand Vihar in Delhi, Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, Thane and Mumbai Central in Maharashtra

Vande Bharat train hits cattle in Gujarat, third incident this month

The Mumbai-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat Superfast Express rammed into cattle near Atul railway station in Gujarat on Saturday morning which damaged its front panel, an official said. This was the third such incident since the Vande Bharat train service started on this route from September 30. The train halted for 15 minutes after hitting a bull that had strayed on the track around 8.20 am but all the passengers were safe, said Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer of Western Railway. The train's front panel was damaged and the underbelly equipment of its first coach was also dented, he said. "There is no damage to the train, except to the Nose Cone Cover of the front coach, that is the driver's coach. The train is running smoothly," Thakur added. The damaged panel will be replaced once the train reaches Mumbai, he said. On October 6, the train, which has a maximum speed of 130 kmph, ran over four buffaloes between Vatva and Maninagar stations in Gujarat on its way to Gandhinag

Has Vande Bharat Express made the Bullet train less aspirational?

While the bullet train project is delayed, the Indian Railways recently launched a set of upgraded Vande Bharat trains. Will these semi high-speed trains make the bullet train less aspirational?

Vande Bharat Express likely to make southern debut on November 10

The Vande Bharat Express is likely to make its southern debut on November 10, when its fifth edition will be launched between Chennai-Bengaluru and Mysuru, sources said on Friday. The distance it will cover will be around 483 km. The Railways recently launched the third and the fourth Vande Bharat Express from poll-bound states of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Elections in Karnataka are likely to be held next year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday flagged off the inaugural run of the latest Vande Bharat Express train at Amb Andaura railway station in Himachal Pradesh's Una district. The train will cut travel time between Una, Chandigarh and New Delhi and also comes equipped with advanced safety features. Vande Bharat 2.0 trains come fitted with the Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) called KAVACH, which the previous trains did not have. Coaches are equipped with disaster lights with a battery backup of three hours. The train's exterior has eight flatform-side camera

Railways plans to launch Vande Bharat trains for freight operations

The Centre, in this fiscal year's Union budget, had laid out a target to roll out 400 Vande Bharat trains by the end of 2024-25

Vande Bharat takes a hit with frequent mishaps, Railways keeps its chin up

Beyond the pit-stop measures of spare cones, the Indian Railways is also planning to put fences along the railway tracks on VB routes to avoid recent incidents

Mumbai-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat suffers minor damages after cattle hit

The newly launched Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat Express suffered minor damages after hitting a herd of buffaloes in Gujarat Thursday morning, officials said. The incident happened between the Gairatpur and Vatva station around 11:20 am. A railway spokesperson said the front part of the engine was damaged in the incident. "Three-four buffaloes suddenly came on the way of Mumbai-Gandhinagar VB (Vande Bharat), damaging the nose made up of FRP (fiber reinforced plastic). The spokesperson said no functional part was damaged in the incident. "The train moved just after removing carcasses (within 8 minutes) and reached Gandhinagar on time. The incident occurred at 11:18 between Gairatpur-Vatva station. The Railways is trying to counsel nearby villagers not to leave cattle near the track." The semi-high speed trains was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 30.

Vande Bharat designed with unavoidable cattle collision in mind: Vaishnaw

Collision with cattle on the tracks is unavoidable and this has been kept in mind while designing the semi-high speed Vande Bharat train, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said here on Friday. A day before, four buffaloes were killed after being hit by the Gandhinagar Capital-Mumbai Central Vande Bharat Express near Vatva in Ahmedabad. The train's cone nose was damaged and replaced later. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flagged off the train on the route on September 30. "The train has been designed in such a way and it is so strong that if there is an accident, nothing will happen to the train. Its nose on the front is totally replaceable. As soon as the train reached Mumbai (after the incident on Thursday), it was completely cleaned up and its nose replaced," Vaishnaw said here. The minister was interacting with the students of an engineering college at Vallabh Vidyanagar. The train has been designed "very thoughtfully," he said. "In India, the tracks are laid on the ground. .

New Vande Bharat trains to run at 200 kmph, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Marathwada Rail Coach Factory at Latur in central Maharashtra will manufacture nearly 1,600 coaches for the upgraded version of Vande Bharat Express trains in the coming years and each of them will cost Rs 8 crore to Rs 9 crore, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said. He said the advanced version of Vande Bharat trains will be able to attain maximum speed of 200 km per hour (kmph). Vaishnaw was addressing the 'Destination Marathwada' event, organised by the Chamber of Marathwada Industries and Agriculture (CMIA), in Aurangabad on Monday evening. "The next version of Vande Bharat trains will be manufactured in Marathwada. Nearly 1,600 coaches will be manufactured at the facility in Latur. Each coach will cost Rs 8 crore to 9 crore. The project will create opportunities for companies located in radius of 400 km to 500 km," he added. Talking about the next generation of Vande Bharat Express, Vaishnaw said, "The maximum speed of these trains will be 200 kmph as compared to 180

India to get 400 'Vande Bharat' trains, 200 revamped stations: Vaishnaw

As many as 200 railway stations across the country will get a facelift with modern amenities, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said here on Monday. He attended the foundation stone laying ceremony for a coach maintenance factory at the Aurangabad railway station in central Maharashtra. "Tendering process for 47 railway stations is completed while physical work has started at 32 stations," he said. He said the railways is being transformed. "The government has prepared a master plan to revamp 200 railway stations. Overhead spaces will be created on the stations which will have world-class facilities including waiting lounges and food courts, besides amusement facilities for children," the minister said. Vaishnaw also said that railway stations will act as the "platform" for the sale of regional products. Speaking on the contribution of the Marathwada region in Maharashtra in the making of Vande Bharat trains, the minister said, "The country will have 400 'Vande Bharat' trains ..