Vande Bharat Sleeper- Trials of Vande Bharat Sleeper train are going on. On Thursday, Vande Sleeper achieved a speed of 180 kmph on the Kota-Laban section.
After running the Vande Bharat Express train, the railways are now testing its sleeper version. The Vande Bharat sleeper train has been successfully tested at a maximum speed of 180 kmph. All the trials of the Vande Bharat sleeper train will be completed by the end of this month. After this, it will be evaluated by the Railway Safety Commissioner. Railway sources say that the Vande Bharat sleeper train will be seen running on the tracks in May this year.
On Thursday, the Vande Bharat sleeper was trialled on the Kota-Laban section in Bundi district of Rajasthan. The train achieved a speed of 180 kmph while covering a distance of 30 km. Earlier, on January 1, the train touched the speed of 180 km/h in a 40 km trial run on the Rohal Khurd to Kota section. On the same day, speeds of 170 km/h and 160 km/h were achieved on the Kota-Nagda and Rohal Khurd-Chowmahala sections respectively.
When will Vande Sleeper join the railway fleet?
The Railway Ministry said in a statement, “After the tests, the trains will be evaluated by the Railway Safety Commissioner at maximum speed. Only after passing the final stage, Vande Bharat trains will be officially certified and handed over to the Indian Railways for regular service.” A report in Financial Express quoted railway sources as saying that the Vande Bharat Sleeper train will join the railway fleet by May this year.
Experts believe that Vande Bharat Sleeper trains will reduce travel time by 2-4 hours as compared to Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi Express. Harshit Kapadia, Vice President of Elara Securities, says that these trains have better speed stability, more comfortable facilities, and effective braking system for jerk-free travel. Currently, the average speed of the fastest train running between Mumbai and Delhi is 90 kilometers per hour. Vande Bharat Sleeper will run at a faster speed and complete the journey in less time.
Fares will be expensive
The fares of Vande Bharat sleeper trains will be more expensive than Rajdhani and other trains. Due to this, many people are skeptical whether it will contribute to increasing the passenger income of the railways. For example, the fare of Vande Bharat chair car is 25-30% higher than the chair car coaches of other trains, which has affected its overall passenger rate. Kapadia said, “We expect the fares of Vande Bharat sleeper services to be similarly premium. These trains will be mainly for middle and upper middle class passengers, who will be willing to pay a little extra for better comfort and ambiance.”
