Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the inaugural run of the new Vande Bharat Express at Una Himachal Pradesh station in the hill state on Thursday morning.
The semi-high-speed train will operate between Amb Andaura in Himachal Pradesh to New Delhi railway stations, with stops at Ambala Cantonment, Chandigarh, Anandpur Sahib and Una.
As per the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), it is the fourth Vande Bharat train that has been introduced in the country. “It is an advanced version compared to the earlier ones, being much lighter and capable of reaching higher speed in shorter duration,” said PMO.
During the ceremony, PM Modi inspected the train coaches and took stock of onboard facilities. He also inspected the control centre of the locomotive engine of Vande Bharat Express and interacted with officials.
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Union IT minister Anurag Singh Thakur were also present on the occasion.
The train can catch the speed of 100 km per hour in just 52 seconds and run at a maximum speed of 180 km per hour. It has classes like Shatabdi Express trains but offers better facilities, with a declared aim of providing a world-class train journey experience.
It is expected to help boost tourism in Himachal Pradesh by providing a comfortable and faster mode of travel.
The train has 16 coached and will cover 412 km. It will run six days a week.
With a Wi-Fi content on-demand facility, every coach of this train, touted as Vande Bharat 2.0, has 32-inch screens providing passenger information and infotainment compared to 24-inch in the previous version.
The train boasts ACs that are 15 per cent more energy efficient. “With dust-free clean air cooling of the traction motor, travel will become more comfortable. A side recliner seat facility provided only to Executive Class passengers earlier will now be made available for all classes,” said the government.
“Speed, safety and service are the hallmarks of this train. Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, a railways production unit, has been the force behind a completely in-house design and manufacture, computer modelling and working with a large number of suppliers for system integration in just 18 months.