The Indian Railways is looking to modernise passenger services to improve comfort for travellers and increase the speed of passenger trains. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently unveiled the prototype of the Vande Bharat sleeper train, a new offering by the national transporter that is said to be better than premium trains like the Rajdhani Express and the Tejas Express.

Unveiling the train, which is manufactured by BEML, Vaishnaw mentioned that the Indian Railways is working on four new trains that will “change the way of travelling in India”. These are Vande Bharat chair car, Vande Bharat sleeper car, Vande Metro and Amrit Bharat trains. “These projects reflect the emerging India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.

The report says the Vande Bharat sleeper is quite superior compared to Rajdhani Express and other models. It will allow the passengers to cover long distances seamlessly in full comfort.

The sleeper variant will have better average speed compared to the Rajdhani Express, all thanks to quicker acceleration and deceleration. Once the operation starts, the train is likely to run at an average speed of 160 kmph, while the testing speed will be 180 kmph.

Total Coaches

Talking about the number of coaches, the Vande Bharat sleeper will be equipped with multiple coaches. The list includes 4 AC 2 tier coaches (188 berths), 11 AC 3 tier coaches (611 berths), and 1 AC First Class Coach (24 berths).

Features

As far as the features are concerned, the new train has been treated with world’s class amenities such as GFRP panels, a sensor-based interior, automatic exterior passenger doors, an ergonomically designed odour-free toilet system, communication doors, and a spacious luggage room, and the list goes on.