22/10/2023
New Vande Sadharan launched
These trains are launched its first trial run today. These trains are built to cater to the middle income and lower income families. The train tickets are, in other words, affordable to encourage people to travel.
The main cost cutting method adopted is that these are non-air-conditioned trains. These were constructed at Chennai Integral Coach factory (ICF), at a cost of 75 crores. The Vande Bharat is completely air-conditioned built at ICF for 100 crores.
The train has 24 coaches (bogies) with two locomotive engines, one front and one at the rear, to ensure efficient acceleration.
Passengers will have the same travel experience minus the AC as Vande Bharat. All amenities will be provided- these include ergonomic seats, modern switches, lights, fans, toilets for physically differentials abled.
Every coach will have comfortable seats, clean maintenance, bio-toilets, automatic doors, CCTV cameras, etc.
Passengers can travel without reservations.
The train can reach a maximum speed of 130kms/hr. The train will stop at multiple stations at short distances to facilitate passengers to get in and out from wherever they are. Therefore very high speeds are not possible. The train is expected to transport about 1800 passengers at a time.
The root of the Sanskrit word Vande is Vand, which appears in Rigveda which means “to praise, celebrate, laud, salute respectfully” Sadharan means ordinary.
The Great India Railways
Indian Railways is one of the largest rail networks in the world, with a network span of 1,23,236 kilometers along with 16 Railway Zones and 68 Divisions. Regarding route kilometers, the northern zone is the largest, and the southern zone is the first to be built on 14 April 1951.
The first railway to run was a goods train in 1837. It ran from Red Hills to the Chintadripet bridge in Madras (Chennai).
Lord Dalhousie served as the Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856. He is also said to have convinced the British to introduce the railways in India through his famous Railway minutes of 1853. Thus, he is regarded as the father of Indian railways.
The Developmemt of Railway System:
Indian Railways (IR) posted a 25% growth in its revenues to Rs. 2.40 lakh crore (US$ 29 billion) for the financial year 2022-23 (FY23).
* Increasing urbanisation and rising income (both urban and rural) is driving growth in the passenger segment.
* India is projected to account for 40% of the total global share of rail activity by 2050.
* In 2023-24, traffic revenue is estimated to be Rs 2,64,600 crore, comprising 99.8% of the total revenue.
* Indian Railways is developing and creating technology in areas such as signaling and telecommunication with 15,000 kms being converted into automatic signaling and 37,000 kms to be fitted with ‘KAVACH’, the domestically developed Train Collision Avoidance System.
