Atrial run was held for the new Vande Bharat Express wherein the train clocked in speeds of over 180 km/hr. The video of the trial run was shared by Southern Railways on their official Twitter handle today, 6 September. The video shows a glass full of water remaining still while the train was speeding along its route. The Southern Railways lauded the trial run and wrote, “Take a look at the new Vande Bharat rake on trial run clocking 180-183 Kmph. A glass filled to the brim with water stays stable even as the train speeds at 180 Kmph”.
The video has been viewed over two lakh times since it was first posted.
Check the video here:
The video garnered a variety of reactions, with several people praising the efforts of the Southern Railways.
Some congratulated the organisation for this test but also questioned the lack of enclosures around the tracks.
Others were critical of the step, and commented that such high-speed trains could be run only on specific routes.
A few individuals wrote they were looking forward to the facilities.
Currently, there are two Vande Bharat trains running in India- from Delhi to Katra and from Delhi to Varanasi. The final trial run for the third route, Mumbai- Ahmedabad, is scheduled to be conducted from 7 September, as per reports. Under the trial, also known as the Time Table trial, the Vande Bharat rake will be filled with sandbags.
The project is set for a massive expansion, with the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory aiming to build at least 75 new Vande Bharat trains within a year. The Vande Bharat project falls in under the Make in India campaign and aims to build semi high-speed trains indigenously. The trains will be self propelled and will not have a separate engine
In her Budget 2022 speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that the country will manufacture 400 new Vande Bharat trains over the next three years. The new trains will mostly be made of aluminum.
