'Coming soon': Ashwini Vaishnaw shares pics of Vande Bharat sleeper trains

Vaishnaw's post on social media platform X indicated that the trains will start in early 2024

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday shared pictures of the upcoming Vande Bharat sleeper trains on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. "Concept train - Vande Bharat (sleeper version). Coming soon... early 2024," he posted, along with the pictures.

According to the pictures shared by Vaishnaw, the trains will offer two and three-tier options. The design appears modern and distinct from the current Vande Bharat trains. News agency ANI reported that the sleeper trains may commence operations from February 2024.

The inaugural Vande Bharat Express, operating between New Delhi and Varanasi, was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 15, 2019.

Manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, the train serves as a symbol of the "Make-In-India" initiative, highlighting India's engineering capabilities. The train has achieved a maximum speed of 180 km/h on the Kota-Sawai Madhopur section.

The project to produce indigenous semi-high-speed train sets began in mid-2017. Within 18 months, ICF Chennai completed Train-18.

Last month, Vaishnaw announced that the Indian Railway would introduce the "14 minutes of miracle" concept for expedited cleaning of trains, starting October 1. Initially, the concept will be applied to 29 Vande Bharat trains at their respective destination stations across the country.

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The formal launch will take place at the Delhi Cantt. Railway Station. Vaishnaw informed reporters that the Vande Bharat trains would be cleaned within 14 minutes under this initiative to improve punctuality and turnaround time.

This unique concept is a first for the Indian railways. It is modelled on the "7 minutes of miracle" initiative at various stations in Japan, where bullet trains are cleaned and made ready for another journey within seven minutes.

The efficient cleaning process has been achieved by improving the skills and working attitudes of the cleaning personnel without increasing the number of front-line workers already engaged in this task, the minister noted.

In addition to Delhi Cantt, the service will be extended to other railway stations such as Varanasi, Gandhinagar, Mysore, and Nagpur, depending on the respective arrival timings of the Vande Bharat trains.

Before implementing this concept, the Railways conducted a few dry-runs. Initially, attendants cleaned the train in approximately 28 minutes, which was later reduced to 18 minutes. Now, the cleaning will be completed in just 14 minutes without incorporating any new technology, Vaishnaw added.

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"Starting with Vande Bharat, we will gradually apply the same concept to other trains, which will have a significant impact on improving their punctuality," the minister said.

(With agency inputs)