Page 34 - NIS English, December 16-31,2022

Cover Story 2022: Year of Willpower

SWADESHI VANDE Railways has been one of the sectors

BHARAT GAVE manufacturing under Make in India."
that has made a lot of progress in

MOMENTUM TO Vande Bharat Express is a glimpse
of the work that has been done to
AATMANIRBHAR BHARAT improve the condition of the railways
and prepare the track for fast trains.
- Narendra Modi,
These words from Prime Minister Narendra Modi say Prime Minister
a lot about the significance of the indigenous new
Vande Bharat Express 2.0 in strengthening India's
resolve to be AatmaNirbhar and to promote "Make in
India" in railways. The new version of the country's first
engineless Vande Bharat train reaches a speed of 100
km per hour in less than 52 seconds, while the bullet
train reaches this speed in 54.6 seconds. The new
Vande Bharat train equipped with indigenous security
tool, "Kavach," has run from Gandhi Nagar in Gujarat to
Mumbai and recently from KSR station in Bengaluru.

The first Vande Bharat Express train in
the country ran from Delhi to Varanasi on
February 15, 2019. Now the Chennai-Mysore
Vande Bharat train is the first in South India
and the fifth indigenous high-speed train in
the country. The country has a target of 75
Vande Bharat trains by August 2023 and 400
trains in the next three years. The upgraded
Vande Bharat train can run at a maximum
speed of 180 kmph, which is targeted to be
increased to 220 kmph.
The first rail steam engine in India was built
on November 1, 1950, at the Chittaranjan Rail
Factory; now India itself is manufacturing
the high-speed train.
Vande Bharat Express is also known as
"Train 18," as the first train was built in just
18 months at the Integrated Rail Coach
Factory in Chennai. The new Vande Bharat Express weighs 392 tonnes,
The coaches of the semi-high-speed train while the previous one weighed 430 tonnes. The new
Tejas have also been manufactured in the Vande Bharat Express will use 15% less electricity
country. The first Tejas train ran between for its air conditioning system. The executive coach
Mumbai and Goa on May 23, 2017. seats swivel 180 degrees. The new Vande Bharat is
India developed its own Automatic Train fitted with an anti-virus photocatalytic air purifier
Protection (ATP) system, Kavach, which is system that will keep the train free of all airborne
being integrated into the network.
diseases, including Corona.

32 New India Samachar December 16-31, 2022