Rail revolution: Vande Bharat trains set new speed and service standards

In 1988, the late Madhavrao Scindia, then Railways Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi-led government, flagged-off the Shatabdi Express, between Delhi and Jhansi. Amongst the fastest trains in India, Shatabdi – travelling point-to-point – was inspired by the then Minster’s visits to Japan and France.  Cut to February 2019. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first-ever Vande Bharat train — a super fast, indigenously-designed offering that marked not just a generational shift, but also a display of India’s manufacturing prowess. Integral Coach Factory (ICF) won the businessline’s Changemaker of the Year award 2024 for its Vande Bharat trains. These trains have redefined travel for Indians.

Vande Bharat trains are now the fastest point-to-point services in the country. The trains provide passenger amenities and services on par with airlines and are seen as an equivalent to Eurail. In fact, Vande Bharat’s trains are setting the standards for Eurail.

 “India is greeting aspirational and in the next 4-5 years, you will see train travel getting redefined in the country. Be it Vande Bharat, the Vande Sleepers, the Vande Metro or Amrit Bharat trains, there will be a sea change in the way people travel,” U Subba Rao, General Manager, Integral Coach Factory (ICF), said while receiving the award for Vande Bharat.

“By the end of this month you will see more Vande Bharat trains being rolled out… at least 6 more,” he said.

“The PM asked us to put more such trains in the fastest time and we are proud to say that 12 more trains will be rolled out in the next few months across India,” Rao added.

Vande Bharat trains have also infused a new sense of purpose in ICF.These semi-high speed trains signal an achievement for ICF, which rolled out its first coach in 1955. In June 2024, coach number 75,000 rolled out, fittingly on a Vande Bharat trainset. Today, ICF is the largest rail coach manufacturer in the world under one roof.

The ICF has so far produced 75 Vande Bharat train sets till July 2024, with 15 more to be produced in FY25.

According to Rao: “The making of Vande Bharat express trains has given an incentive and push to the whole organisation. Now Vande Bharat is a whole brand of trains, not just the chair car train.” “We are not replicating the trains of Europe, nor are we equal to high-speed train of China, but it has put us on that path,” Rao had previously said.

With a capability of travelling at 160 kph (though max speeds are around 130 kph or less because of limitations of the tracks) these trains are faster than the Shatabdi. Travel on shorter routes such as Chennai to Bengaluru, in under four-and-a-half hours, beating air travel by a couple of hours, are the new areas of focus.

“These end to end travel option, and easy accessibility is giving a fillip to tourism too. Temple tourism is picking up and new tourist circuits are being created,” Railways Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, had previously said.