Inspired by tricolour: Min Vaishnaw on VB express in saffron hue

CHENNAI: The 28th rake of Indian-built semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express will be 'saffron' in colour, railway officials said on Saturday.

The new saffron Vande Bharat Express is however not yet operational and is currently stationed at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, where Vande Bharat trains are manufactured. Railways officials told ANI that a total of 25 rakes of Vande Bharat Express are operational on their designated routes and two rakes are reserved. "While the colour of this 28th rake is being changed on a trial basis," they said.

The project to manufacture indigenous semi-high-speed train sets began in mid-2017, and within 18 months, the ICF Chennai completed Train-18. India's first semi-high-speed train was renamed Vande Bharat Express in January 2019 to emphasize its made-in-India status. The train achieved a maximum speed of 180 kmph on the Kota-Sawai Madhopur section.

Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday inspected the Integral Coach Factory here, reviewed safety measures in Southern Railways, and also reviewed improvements in the Vande Bharat Express. After conducting an inspection, the Union minister said that the new colour of the 28th rake of the indigenous train is "inspired by Indian Tricolour".

He said that 25 improvements have done in the Vande Bharat trains. "This is a concept of Make In India, (which means) designed in India, by our own engineers, and technicians. So whatever feedback we are receiving from the field units, regarding ACs, toilets, etc., during the operation of Vande Bharat, all those improvements are being used for making changes in the design," Vaishnaw said in a press briefing.

"A new safety feature, 'anti climbers', or anti-climbing devices, on which we are working, were also reviewed today. These will be standard features in all the Vande Bharat and other trains," he added. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off two new and upgraded versions of Vande Bharat Express trains-- Gorakhpur-Lucknow and Jodhpur-Sabarmati--at Gorakhpur Station in Uttar Pradesh, taking the total operational service across the country to a significant milestone of 50.

It is pertinent to note that India's semi-high-speed train set, now offers its services in all rail-electrified states across the country. With 50 operational services, the Vande Bharat Express has revolutionized rail travel, providing state-of-the-art amenities and reducing travel time for passengers.

The first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off on February 15, 2019, by the Prime Minister, running between New Delhi and Varanasi. Manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, the train set symbolizes the 'Make-In-India' initiative and showcases India's engineering prowess.

The project to manufacture indigenous semi-high-speed train sets began in mid-2017, and within 18 months, the ICF Chennai completed Train-18. India's first semi-high-speed train was renamed Vande Bharat Express in January 2019 to emphasize its made-in-India status. The train achieved a maximum speed of 180 kmph on the Kota-Sawai Madhopur section.