The first prototype of the Vande Bharat sleeper trainset has been manufactured and will undergo field trials soon, the government informed Parliament on Friday.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw added that the timeline for the rollout of the train is subject to a successful completion of the trials.
According to the minister, the Vande Bharat sleeper trains, planned for long and medium-distance journeys, are equipped with modern features and passenger amenities.
Vaishnaw highlighted some of the distinguished features and amenities of these trains, such as the automatic train protection system Kavach, latest fire-safety standards compliance, crashworthy and jerk-free semi-permanent couplers and anti-climbers, a regenerative braking system for energy efficiency, higher average speed with quick deceleration and acceleration, among others.
Talking about medium-distance Vande Bharat train services, Vaishnaw said as on December 2, 136 Vande Bharat train services with chair-car coaches are running across the Indian Railways’ network.
Of these, 16 Vande Bharat Express services are catering to the needs of stations located in Tamil Nadu, he added.
The minister said the longest-distance Vande Bharat train services are running between Delhi and Varanasi, covering a distance of 771 km.
He added that the introduction of new train services, including Vande Bharat services and its variants, is an ongoing process subject to traffic justification, operational feasibility and resource availability.