India will get its first Vande Metro in July, officials close to the development said. The train aimed to cater to intercity passengers covering up to 250 km will have 12 coaches and seating like a metro train.
Following the enormous success of semi-high-speed Vande Bharat trains, the Indian Railways intends to establish the country's first Vande Metro to change the intra-city transportation system, according to a senior official close to the project. This comes at the heels of the successful induction of the Vande Bharat Express trains in India’s railway network.
"All preparations are going on to start its trial run from July 2024 so that its services can be offered to people as soon as possible," the official said. Vande Metro, which will be based on cutting-edge technology to achieve fast acceleration and deceleration, will include various unique features designed with city people' transit requirements in mind.
"We plan to put them out this year. The testing will begin in a few months. Aside from automated doors and a high comfort quotient, it will have many other amenities that are not presently accessible in metro trains," the official said, adding that further information about its extra features, as well as images, will be shared with the public very soon.
“The air-conditioned train will revolutionise the travel era and is expected to run at a maximum speed of 130km per hour,” one of the officials said.
According to railway sources, it will feature a unique coach structure, with four coaches forming one unit and a minimum of 12 coaches forming one Vande Metro. To begin, the Railways will introduce a minimum of 12 Vande Metro coaches, which will be increased to 16 coaches depending on demand on the route.
The coaches are being made in the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala and are in their final stages. The city which will first receive the Vande Bharat Metro is being worked out. The trains, which will have modern interior designs, are expected to be operational by 2025 and will cut travel time by two hours compared to other trains. Its first prototype, however, is almost ready.