Vande Bharat metro trials to begin from July

India will start trial runs for Vande Bharat metros from July, o©cials aware of the discussions told businessline. To run on broad-gauge lines, these metro train sets will have up to 16 coaches. Typically, India operates most of its Railway network on broad gauge lines, where the maximum train speeds can go up to 160 km per hour (for Vande Bharats).

A broad gauge or wide gauge track is generally of 1,676 mm width (the distance between two gauges is 5 ft 6 inches).

The Rail Coach Factory (RCF) at Kapurthala in Punjab is developing the prototype of the Vande Metro coach, targeting primarily intercity travel and covering distances between 100-250 km.

In all, 124 cities are to be connected through Vande Bharat Metros. Some of the initially identified routes include Tirupathi-Chennai; LucknowKanpur and Agra-Mathura.

These train sets will leverage the existing broad gauge line network on which local and sub-urban operate.

“We are yet to decide on the route of the trial runs. But by July, the prototypes should be tested, following which production will start,” an o©cial said. On average, each Vande Metro coach will have the capacity to carry 280 passengers — 100 seating capacity and 180 standing capacity. The 3x3 bench-type seating arrangement maximises passenger capacity. Linear seating can also be looked into to maximise capacities. Vande Bhart Metros operate independently of existing rapid railway transit and other operating metro networks.

The trial run for Vande Bharat sleeper trains will start in early May. Roll-out is expected later this year. trains currently