Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the Ministry of Railways to come up with a new kind of train concept called Vande Metro. The new mode of transport will be built on the back of success achieved by the Vande Bharat Express trains. The conceptual train will be similar to the ‘Regional Trans’ trains in Europe. The Vande Metros will run between two nearby big stations, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw revealed on Saturday.
The railways has received Vande Metro as the target for this year from PM Modi. These will be world-class regional trains. Prototype of the trains will be ready within the next 12 to 16 months, the Union Minister informed. The railway plans to come out with the prototype in the target time span, roll it out and operate it for at least one year. Vande Metro trains could have 8 coaches like city metros, compared to 16 coaches in Vande Bharat Express trains.
The concept of the Vande Metro was further explained by Minister Vaishnaw. They will be run on high frequency. He further revealed that the plan is to run Vande Metro trains between cities which are less than 100 kms from each other. It will be a shuttle-like experience for passengers.
Bengaluru could be one of the first stations to get the Vande Metro, being one of the most important urban centres of India, South Western Railway (SWR) GM Sanjeev Kishore told Deccan Herald. Bengaluru Vande Metro could give connectivity to towns such as Tumakuru and Hindupur which lie within 100-km radius of the Karnataka capital, he added. Uttar Pradesh’s two big hubs Lucknow and Kanpur also appear perfectly placed at some 90 kms apart to get a Vande Metro in the future. Similarly, Patna and Darbhanga, two big cities in Bihar at a distance of around 140 kms, could also fit the bill.
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(With inputs from PTI)
