In Budget 2022, the Finance Minister has announced that 400 new energy-efficient Vande Bharat trains will be introduced in three years.
Context
In Budget 2022, the Finance Minister has announced that 400 new energy-efficient Vande Bharat trains will be introduced in three years.
Key-points
- Going by the cost of the current train sets, the 400 announced by FM carry a potential investment of Rs 50,000 crore over the next three years.
- The current Vande Bharats are being made at Rs 106 crore per train set of 16 cars, at 2018 pricing.
- The future ones will cost slightly more, because of different specifications and also inflation.
- Going by the industry practice, the sheer manufacturing of 400 of these trainset will create additional employment to the tune of 10,000-15,000.
What are Vande Bharat Trains?
- The Train18, later named Vande Bharat Express, was rolled out by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai under the Indian government’s Make in India initiative.
- The train was launched on 15 February 2019.
- It was showcased as India’s first semi high-speed train with an operational efficiency of 160 kmph.
- Vande Bharat is a semi-high speed train set, each of 16 coaches, and self-propelled — they do not require an engine.
- Currently, two Vande Bharat trains are currently in operation, Delhi-Varanasi and Delhi-Katra.
- This is called a distributed traction power system, which is increasingly becoming the norm the world over for passenger operations.
- Distributed power gives the train higher acceleration and deceleration compared to loco-hauled trains, which take a much longer time to reach top speed or to gradually come to a halt.
