ICF’s Vande Metro rolled out without much fanfare; trial under way in MP

CHENNAI: The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) rolled out its maiden Metro variant of Vande Bharat over a week ago without much fanfare. The first fully developed Vande metro has been put on trial in northern railway, highly placed railway sources disclosed to DT Next.

The 12-car Vande Bharat Metro is currently undergoing oscillation trials in Madhya Pradesh. The state-of-the-art VB metro, which could replace the AC MEMUs operated between major cities, is undergoing speed and safety trials by experts of the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), the R&D wing of Indian Railways, near Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh.

The self-propelled train has the capacity to accommodate 2,000 passengers, including a 1,120 seating capacity. It is being operated at 130 kmph in Madhya Pradesh on trials. However, the train would only be operated at 110kmph maximum when it is out for public use. The trials would also be done in other zones to test the train on different terrains and conditions.

Upon completion of the oscillation trial, which is done at 130 kmph with iron dummies matching the passenger capacity of the train, ICF would work on the shortcomings, if any, cited by the RDSO and improve the train features before commencing commercial production.

The 12-car VB metro train, which would be a hybrid version of AC MEMU (Mainline Electrical Multiple Unit), would cater to short-distance inter-city travel like Chennai to Tirupati, running up to a little over three hours with world-class passenger amenities and comfort to passengers. Unlike the ‘prototype’ the Rail Coach Factory rolled out in Kapurthala, the fully air-conditioned Vande Metro of ICF is a fully finished train.

Vande Metro trains would have sealed gangways that ensure easier movement between coaches, automatic entry and exit doors, mobile charging facilities, diffused lighting, route indicator displays, wider panoramic sealed windows with roller blinds, CCTV surveillance, emergency talk-back units, modular toilets with vacuum evacuation and above all anti-collision KAVACH system like Vande Bharat express trains.