Indian Railways is manufacturing Vande Metro train which will replace those designed in 1950s and 60s, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday. He added that these Vande Metros will take care of the middle class and the poor.
“We are designing and the design should be out by anywhere by May or June — We are designing a worldclass Vande Metro which will be a great leap forward,” Vaishnaw told reporters during an interaction.
“These Vande Metro train will be manufactured in such large numbers that across the country, the trains which were of 1950s and 1960s designs will all be replaced,” he added.
First hydrogen train in India
He also said that the first indigenously designed and built hydrogen train would roll out in December 2023. The minister said the Indian engineers are designing it and we should be able to roll out the first hydrogen train in the country by December 2023.
Vaishnaw ruled out privatisation of railways saying, “Railways is a strategic sector and it will remain with the government.” The Union Minister said the Railways is working on the Vande Bharat-3 design, which will also have sleeper class. These trains would also be used for a long journey.
Presently, the Railways is taking up 12 km of railway track construction a day, which used to be a mere four km a day during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government from 2004 to 2014.
Bullet train
Regarding the bullet train corridor construction between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, he said it is going on at a full speed. The technology of bullet train operations is so complex given the vibration it will generate but the Indian engineers have mastered the technology, Vaishnaw claimed.
The Railways will take up 11 or 12 more corridors in the country after the successful completion of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor, he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
