PM Narendra Modi will be in Ayodhya on December 30, where he is expected to flag off six new Vande Bharat Express train services and two new Amrit Bharat trains. The second Amrit Bharat train is likely to run in South India, sources told TOI.
Amrit Bharat train: Features
The Amrit Bharat train, which was earlier being called Vande Sadharan by many in the railway circles, is a push pull train for the common man. The new train in hues of orange and grey has a locomotive at each end for a “push-pull” operation which allows for faster acceleration, hence resulting in time travel being reduced. The new train from Indian Railways has several new features keeping in mind the comfort of the common man.
The non-AC train will have 22 coaches with 12 second class 3-tier sleeper cars, 8 general second class coaches, and two guards compartments. In the guard compartments, there is space for ladies in one coach and differently abled passengers in another coach. Some of the major features of the train include:
- Aerodynamically designed WAP5 locomotives on both ends in push-pull configuration (concentrated power train set)
- Jerk free semi permanent couplers
- Maximum permissible speed of 130 kmph
- Control couplers on end walls for push pull operation with locos at both ends of the train
- Improved design light weight foldable snack table
- Fully sealed gangways
- Mobile charger with suitable holder and foldable bottle holder
- Aesthetically pleasing and ergonomically designed seat and berth with improved colour blending
- Improved cushioned luggage rack
- Zero discharge FRP modular toilet
- Aerosol Based Fire suppression system in toilets and electrical cubicles
- Radium illumination flooring strip
- Faster acceleration for reduced travel time
According to ICF GM BG Mallya, the advantage of a push-pull train is it has twice the power of one train. “We have tried to make the travel experience better for the passengers who use non-AC coaches,” Mallya told TOI earlier this year.
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The gangways used for movement between coaches have been improved. “Vande (Bharat) has the best gangway. This is a slightly scaled down gangway, but it will have all the features of the Vande gangway. Rainwater does not fall inside, dust does not come inside. So you can go from one coach to the other seamlessly,” he explained.
Mallya added that for non-AC train coaches, normally the toilets are the weakest links. “On these trains, the toilets will be almost equivalent to the Vande (Bharat),” he said.