Chennai is finally set to have the premium Vande Bharat Express train service. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the service between Chennai and Mysuru at Bengaluru on Friday. The first run of the premier train will start from Mysuru.
The Vande Bharat train, which was originally named Train18, is manufactured indigenously at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at Perambur in Chennai.
The Southern Railway, as part of the inauguration of the Vande Bharat Express train, which has an aerodynamic body and can attain a maximum speed of 160 km, conducted a trial run from the Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Station on Monday.
D. Om Prakash, Senior Public Relations Officer, Southern Railway, said the trial run was conducted for familiarising the crew with the working of the train set, route, signals and other safety parameters and to acquaint the onboard coach maintenance crew.
The Southern Railway allotted one rake of Vande Bharat Express on October 14 to be operated between Chennai and Mysuru. The railway authorities are yet to announce details about the fare.
The train, which left Chennai at 5.50 a.m., reached Mysuru at 12.30 p.m. with stops at Katpadi and Bengaluru. In the return direction, the train left Mysuru at 1.05 p.m. and reached Chennai at 7.35 p.m.
The semi-high-speed 16-car train with a seating capacity of 1,128 has several advanced technological and safety features, including Kavach (train anti-collision avoidance system), Level-II safety integration certification for better train control management, platform side cameras, including rear view cameras outside the coach, emergency lights, better heat ventilation and air-conditioning control using higher efficiency compressors, and ergonomic seat handles provided with seat numbers in Braille to assist the visually challenged passengers.
The train has automatic plug doors with sliding footsteps, emergency alarm push buttons and emergency talk back units inside the compartments and a large passenger information and infotainment systems.
Southern Railway General Manager B.G. Mallya and South Western Railway General Manager Sanjeev Kishore along with Divisional Railway Managers participated in the trial run.
