The Vande Bharat Express is also known as Train 18. It is an Indian semi-high-speed, intercity, EMU train which is operated by the Indian Railways only on four prominent routes as of October 2022, one from New Delhi (NDLS) to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK) the second one from New Delhi (NDLS) to Varanasi (BSB), the third one is from Gandhinagar to Mumbai Central, and the fourth one is from Amb(Una) to New Delhi.

Designs & Manufacturing

Vande Bharat Express was designed and manufactured by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at Perambur, Chennai under the Indian government’s Make in India initiative, over a span of 18 months. The unit cost of the first rake was estimated at ₹100 crore (US$13 million), although it is expected to go down with subsequent production. At the original price, it is estimated to be 40% cheaper than a similar train imported from Europe. The train was launched on 15 February 2019, by which date a second unit was expected to have been produced and readied for service. The service was named ‘Vande Bharat Express’ on 27 January 2019.

Speed

Vande Bharat Express is designed to be capable of running at a maximum speed of 160 kmph that can be touched in only 140 seconds for commercial purpose and it exceeded 180kmph during testing, but the tracks on which the train operates are not capable of supporting such high speeds, hence the train is operated at a maximum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph). 

Services