Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday shared pictures on social media platform X of the upcoming Vande Bharat sleeper trains. “Concept train – Vande Bharat (sleeper version). Coming soon… early 2024”.
The picture shows that the Vande Bharat sleeper trains will have two- and three-tier options. The design of the berths is entirely different from those in Rajdhani and other premium trains.
The Vande Bharat sleeper trains will allow passengers to travel long distances on these high-speed trains overnight.
Manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, the train set stands as a symbol of the ‘Make-In-India’ initiative and showcases India’s engineering prowess.
Cleaning in 14 minutes
“We aim to sanitize all trains in 14 minutes, but we’re starting with the Vande Bharat right now. In each Vande Bharat coach, four employees will be present. In addition to conducting practice drills, the cleaning team has had training for more than a month to carry out this project.
Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the initiative is based on the concept of ‘7 minutes of miracle’ in Japan, where bullet trains are cleaned and made ready. The minister had said the initiative is being undertaken to improve punctuality and turnaround time.
The train will have an overnight berth and an overall brighter interior than the current sleeper coaches. It will also offer better comfort and class to the passengers. Keeping in mind the needs of the passengers, the Railways will offer upgraded and spacious toilets and will provide a dedicated charging port for each passenger.
The Integral Coach Factory (ICF), which is producing the Vande Bharat and its variants, is working on a 16-coach initial design. The fully AC train will have 11 three-tier coaches, four two-tier coaches, and one first-class coach.
When compared to the usual sleeper trains, even Rajdhani and Tejas, the VandeBharat is going to have better and enhanced features. However, apart from the fact that it will have sleeping arrangements, the sleeper and chair-car versions of the Vande Bharat train are going to be similar.
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