The new Gandhinagar–Mumbai Vande Bharat Express train was officially launched on Friday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At today's flag-off event, the Prime Minister said that after riding the Vande Bharat trains, people will prefer them over aeroplanes. From Gandhinagar, he took the train to Ahmedabad's Kalupur station.
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"Vande Bharat makes 100 times less noise inside the train than an aeroplane. People who are used to travelling on flights will prefer the Vande Bharat train once they get to experience it," Modi said after flagging off the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express.
The commercial run of the Gandhinagar–Mumbai Vande Bharat Superfast Express will commence on October 1. It will be open Monday through Saturday and closed on Sundays. It would take the train 6 hours and 10 minutes to get from Mumbai Central to Gandhinagar. The return trip begins in Gandhinagar at 2:05 and ends at 8:35 in Mumbai Central.
In both directions, it will stop at stations in Surat, Vadodara, and Ahmedabad.
Executive chair car tickets cost 2,505, while chair car tickets cost 1,385. Both tickets are good for travel between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
The Shatabdi Express between Mumbai and Ahmedabad has been rescheduled so that the Vande Bharat Express may run.
The Vande Bharat Express is a 16-car, semi-high-speed, self-propelled train set created and built entirely within India. The train can accelerate to 160 kilometres per hour in about 140 seconds and provides passengers with improved riding comfort thanks to its 3.5-meter-wide carriages (riding index).
The coach's climate, as well as its connection to the train's central control and maintenance crew, are all monitored by a Coach Control Management System that uses GSM/GPRS technology. Each of the coaches, according to the representative, has a passenger information and entertainment system installed.
Revolving chairs may be found in the executive class, which also has automated plug doors with sliding footsteps and touch-free sliding doors inside coaches.
This is the first train to have airplane-style bio-vacuum toilets with touchless conveniences and a dedicated stall for divyang (those with disabilities). Seat numbers are printed in Braille on the handles of the chairs to aid those who are visually impaired.
Kavach, an automated system for preventing railway accidents, has been installed on this train.
The coaches have emergency talk back units.
The under-slung electrical equipment on this train is now better protected from floods, and can endure water levels of up to 650 mm (15 inches).
(With inputs from agencies)
