What changes are required for the Indian Railways’ Vande Bharat programme, but what about the shubh yatra of the average person?

Kasto Mazza He Railaima… fun to be n the train! Traveling on the Indian railwayshas always been romantic.Trains offer a beautiful glimpseof the landscapes of India and train travelis often synonymous withthetripofalifetime. As an old song fromanIndianfilmsays:”Gaadi bula rahi hai, seeti baja rahi hai, chalna hi zindagi hai, chalti hi jaa rahi hai”(The train whistle iscalling you to ajourney…because after all, life is inmotionAn).

From Ashok Kumar’s “Rail gaadi chuk chuk” to Shahrukh Khan’s “Chaiyya Chaiyya”, therailway has always beenasymbolof India’s history and an integral part of India’s journey tobecome a world-leading economy.

Slow, crowded trains accelerating and leaving a puff of smoke is a familiar image that springs to mind when thinking of trains in India. But all that willchangewhen Indian Railways makestheswitch to electric trains that can travel at 100milesperhour!

Over 30 years after the initiallaunchofthe Shatabdi Express train and over 50 years since the launchofthe Rajdhani service, Indian Railways now presentspremium Vande Bharat multipleunits with features thatsurpassthoseof premium trains. Vande Bharat trains are seen as the new face of passenger railtransport in India.But will they revolutionize train travel for the masses? Thisis a key question that needs to be answered.

Journey
Vande Bharat Express:
Designed in 2017 and produced in a record 18 months, the Vande Bharat Express is considered a ‘worldclass’ train. What makes these trains so special? The
Vande Bharat Express is Often referredtoasa’motorless’ train because, unlike most passenger trains, it doesnot require a locomotive to pull it.Itis an air-conditioned train with conical bullet train-likecockpits at bothends. These multipleunitsarebased on the concept of distributed energysupply to makethemwork.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared some interesting details about the journey on the Vande Bharat Express train at Times Lit Fest 2023recently.

According to Vaishnaw, PrimeMinister Modi insisted that we should “manufacture in India”ratherthanimportthetrain.“Simple engineers, technicians, welders, electricians…woh design karenge aur jo train design hogi woh train hogi jo duniya ko jeetegiworldclass,”saidVaishnaw, quoted byPrimeMinisterModi. Watch the video below to hear the Railway Minister’sspeechon the history of Vande Bharat Express.