Railways Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw has shared a couple of videos of the two new Vande Bharat Express trains that will soon be launched from Mumbai. The two new trains will operate on the Mumbai-Shirdi and Mumbai-Solapur routes. The routes consist of ghat (hilly) sections and until now required an (additional) bank locomotive to operate trains on this section. Additional locomotives, called ‘bankers’, are used to push trains from behind from the Mumbai side on the ghat sections to prevent them from backing up.
However, the Vande Bharat Express, which is a semi-high-speed train, is undergoing trials on the ghat (hilly) sections outside of Mumbai to test its handbrakes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to launch Vande Bharat Express trains on the Mumbai-Solapur and Mumbai-Shirdi routes on February 10, according to reports. Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express The Vande Bharat Express between Mumbai and Solapur is likely to pass through Bhor ghat (located between Karjat and Khandala on the way to Pune) and is expected to cover the distance of around 455 km in 6.35 hours.
Mumbai-Shirdi Vande Bharat Express The Mumbai-Shirdi train is expected to pass through Thal ghat (in Kasara area near Mumbai) and cover a distance of 340 km in 5.25 hours. With a gradient of 1:37 (for every run of 37 meters there is a rise of 1 meter), both the Bhor and Thal ghats are among the most difficult sections of railway ghats in the county, authorities said.
Vande Bharat trains on both routes will run without bankers attached. Instead, they will have parking brakes that will prevent the train from rolling down an incline.
About 25 km long Bhor ghat (also called Khandala ghat) stretches between Karjat and Khandala stations while 14 km long Thal ghat (also known as Kasara ghat) stretches between Kasara and Igatpuri sections. Both high drop ghats have difficult terrain with multiple tunnels and high viaducts.
Vande Bharat Express’s indigenously designed train set is equipped with state-of-the-art amenities for passengers. It will provide a faster, more comfortable and more convenient travel experience for train users.
The introduction of the train will help boost tourism in the region and provide a faster and more comfortable mode of travel. This will be the eighth Vande Bharat train to be introduced in the country and is an advanced version compared to the previous ones, being much lighter and capable of reaching higher speeds in less time. Vande Bharat 2.0 is equipped with more advancements and enhanced features, such as reaching a speed of 0-100 km/h in just 52 seconds and a top speed of up to 180 km/h. The upgraded Vande Bharat Express will weigh 392 tons compared to the previous version of 430 tons.
It will also have a Wi-Fi content-on-demand facility. All coaches have 32″ screens that provide information and infotainment to passengers compared to 24″ on the previous version. Vande Bharat Express will also be environmentally friendly as the air conditioners will be 15% more energy efficient. Cooled by clean, dust-free air from the drive motor, the ride will be more comfortable. A side-reclining seat facility previously provided only for business class passengers will now be available for all classes. Executive coaches have the added feature of 180 degree swivel seats.
In the new design of Vande Bharat Express, a photocatalytic ultraviolet air purification system is installed in the roof mounted package unit (RMPU) for air purification. As recommended by the Central Scientific Instrument Organization (CSIO), Chandigarh, this system is designed and installed at both ends of RMPU to filter and clean the free air from germs, bacteria, viruses etc. entering through fresh air and return air.