After the stupendous success of Vande Bharat trains, Indian railways have now come up with Vande Metro, which is considered to be a mini version of the semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express. Post-budget Railway Minister Ashiwini Vaishnaw had announced that the production and design of this new metro train will be completed by December this year. “We are also developing Vande Metro… Around big cities, there are large habitations from where people would like to come to the big city for work or leisure, and go back to their home place. For that, we are coming up with a Vande Bharat equivalent,” Vaishanw had said.
Also, the production of Vande Metro would be ramped up in the next financial year 2024-25. So what are the key features of Vande Metro that sets it apart from Vande Bharat Express trains? Let’s find out.
The concept of Vande Metro is said to be similar to that of ‘Regional Trans’ trains of Europe. They will be similar to local trains but will travel much faster. It is going to be a rapid train that will give the passengers a world-class shuttle-like experience.
A Vande Metro train will be smaller in size with eight coaches, unlike the 16 coaches of the Vande Bharat Express train. It will help in connecting smaller routes in big cities so that students, traders, and people from the service industry can travel to work and back to their hometowns with much ease and comfort. According to reports, the General Managers of Integral Coach Factory in Chennai and Research Design and Standard Organisation in Lucknow have got directions to roll out the 8-coach Vande Metro rakes as early as possible.
The Vande Metro trains will be run on a high frequency. Vaishnaw had revealed that the plan of Indian Railways is to run these trains between cities which are less than 100 kilometers apart.
If we have to take a guess, Uttar Pradesh could be one of the first states to get a Vande Metro. Its two big cities – Lucknow and Kanpur are about 90 kms apart from each other. Similarly, Patna and Darbhanga, two big cities in Bihar are at a distance of around 140 kms, which may also fit the bill for running a Vande Metro in the future.
The minister further said that apart from ICF Chennai, Vande Bharat trains will also be manufactured in Latur (Maharashtra), Sonipat (Haryana), and Raebareli (Uttar Pradesh). Vaishnaw said that by the end of the next financial year, Railways should be able to roll out about two or three new Vande Bharat trains every week.
The Union Budget this year increased the capital outlay for the Indian Railways to the highest-ever Rs 2.40 lakh crore. While the major part of the fund allocation will be used for renewal of tracks, gauge conversion etc, quite an amount will be used in launching more Vande Bharat Express trains as well. The Railways is also planning to make 100 more Vistadome coaches, the aim of which is to attract tourists.
