NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Vande Bharat Metro (VB Metro) is an inter-city version of the popular Vande Bharat Express. Scheduled trial runs are expected to begin in July. The trains are designed to cater to short-distance commuters over routes ranging between 100 and 250 kilometres. The VB Metro is set to connect 124 cities across India, with initial routes planned between cities such as Lucknow-Kanpur, Agra-Mathura, and Tirupati-Chennai.
Train Design and Specifications
According to senior railway officials, the Vande Metro will feature a flexible design, allowing configurations of four, eight, or even up to 16 coaches to match the density of the route. These trains will have automatic doors and side seating arrangements to accommodate seated and standing passengers. The officials highlighted that these configurations are ideal for unreserved or general category passengers using the service for their daily commutes.
The interior design of the VB Metro trains will mirror that of MEMU trains but with enhanced features such as air conditioning, modern security systems, including CCTV and smoke detectors, and better seating layouts. Each coach will be able to accommodate 100 seated and 180 standing passengers, with toilets available in each coach for convenience.
Despite the optimism, there are concerns about the VB Metro achieving its full potential due to the current limitations of India’s saturated railway track infrastructure. Unlike metropolitan or regional rapid transit systems that operate on dedicated tracks, the VB Metro will utilise the existing tracks, which could potentially affect its efficiency.
Rollout of Vande Bharat Sleeper
In addition to the VB Metro, the railway ministry plans to launch the Vande Bharat sleeper trains within the first 100 days following the election results. These trains, under development by Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML) in Bengaluru, aim to provide premium long-distance travel across the country.
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