New Delhi, India: The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi flagged off the Vande Bharat Express train connecting Secunderabad with Visakhapatnam via video conferencing today (Jan 15). This train will be the eighth Vande Bharat Express to be introduced by Indian Railways and will be the first one connecting the two Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, covering a distance of around 700 km.
The travel time from Secunderabad to Visakhapatnam will be reduced to eight and a half hours from 12 and a half hours. It will have stoppages at Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, and Vijayawada stations in Andhra Pradesh and at Khammam, Warangal, and Secunderabad stations in Telangana.
The indigenously designed train set of Vande Bharat Express is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities. It will provide a faster, more comfortable, and more convenient travel experience to rail users.
The introduction of the train will help boost tourism in the region and provide a comfortable and faster mode of travel. This will be the eighth Vande Bharat train to be introduced in the country and is an advanced version compared to the earlier ones, being much lighter and capable of reaching higher speeds in a shorter duration. Vande Bharat 2.0 is equipped with more advancements and improved features such as reaching a speed of 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in just 52 seconds, and a maximum speed of up to 180 kilometers per hour. The improved Vande Bharat Express will weigh 392 tons when compared to the previous version of 430 tons. It will also have a Wi-Fi content on-demand facility. Every coach has 32” screens providing passenger information and infotainment compared to 24” in the previous version. Vande Bharat Express will also be environmentally friendly as the ACs will be 15 percent more energy efficient. With dust-free clean air cooling of the traction motor, travel will become more comfortable. A side recliner seat facility provided only to Executive Class passengers earlier will now be made available for all classes. Executive Coaches have the added feature of 180-degree rotating seats.
In the new design of Vande Bharat Express, a photo-catalytic ultraviolet air purification system is installed in the Roof-Mounted Package Unit (RMPU) for air purification. As recommended by Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), Chandigarh, this system is designed and installed on both ends of RMPU to filter and clean the air free from germs, bacteria, viruses, etc. coming through fresh air and return air.
The Vande Bharat Express 2.0 offers various superior and aircraft-like traveling experiences. It is equipped with advanced state-of-the-art safety features including an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System – KAVACH.
