Vande Bharat Train: ‘Teething Problems Will Be Resolved Soon’

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Vande Bharat trains can run up at speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour, however the tracks are not designed for such speeds, said chief architect of Vande Bharat Express, Sudhanshu Mani.

The curvature and the gradient of the tracks have to be realigned for that, said Mani, adding that the work for the same is underway but it will take time. 

Mani, who retired after serving in the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME) for 38 years, spoke to Free Press on the sidelines of the ongoing Vigyan Mela at BHEL Dussehra Ground here on Sunday. Mani is considered the brain behind India’s semi-high speed Vande Bharat trains.

At Present 26 Vande Bharat trains are operating in the country. Of these, around seven have poor occupancy. It, however, has nothing to do with the design of the train, he said. 

Over the practical issues the Railways was facing following the launch of the Vande Express trains, Mani assured that said there were some teething problems which would be resolved.

“One of them is the extensive damage to the locomotives when the trains run over cattle,” he said. The damage is repaired within a day but due to media attention, such incidents are getting too much publicity.

He said that in the long-term, fencing of the tracks was the answer to the problem but in the short term, “we are trying to make changes in the design of the locomotives to minimise the damage,” he said. 

He also that there were complaints from the passengers  regarding reclining seats and leg room, which will be addressed by the coach factories.

“There are some other complaints, too, but they are mostly about quality and not design,” he said.  Mani said that the sleeper version of the train is likely to roll out by next year.

“Yes, we will keep the learnings from the current version (which has only sitting accommodation) in mind while designing the sleeper variant,” he said. 

The top ex-technocrat said that the proposed Bullet Train, that would run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, had nothing to do with the Vande Bharat trains. “The Bullet Train would run on a different kind of track. It is a different kind of train. Its speed will be more than 250 kmph,” he said.