Wednesday, 24 May 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
A trial run of the Vande Bharat Express was conducted on Tuesday from Dehradun railway station to Anand Vihar railway station in Delhi ahead of its planned launch on May 25. The trial was successful and the Railways have received positive feedback about the train so far, said the station superintendent of Dehradun railway station, Shashank Sharma to The Pioneer. He said that the inaugural ceremony will be conducted by Union Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at Dehradun railway station on Thursday. The Railway officials informed that presently six trains operate between Dehradun and Delhi which include Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi, Uttaranchal Express, Mussoorie Express, Dehradun-Indore, Ujjain Express and Nanda Devi AC Superfast that take between five and a half hours to over nine hours to cover the distance. The Vande Bharat Express is expected to significantly reduce the travel time between the two cities and become the fastest option on the rail route. The train will terminate at Delhi’s Anand Vihar railway station and complete the journey in four hours and thirty minutes but it is still undecided whether it will make a stop at Saharanpur or pass through Tapri junction. Talking about some of the special features of the train, the officials said that a self-made armour system is fitted in the train as a safety measure against accidents and collisions to make each journey safer. A fire detection and control system is also installed to prevent fire accidents on the train. The train is also equipped with GPS based audio visual passenger information system. The train is self-propelled and does not require connecting engines separately. Other facilities like 32 inches TV screen, WiFi and bio-toilets will also be available for passengers, as per the officials.
