A brand new rake of Vande Bharat Express train — the third to be produced — arrived at Chandigarh railway station from Chennai for a week-long trial on Thursday morning. The Vande Bharat Express, also known as Train 18, is an Indian intercity semi-high-speed, intercity, EMU train, which is operated by the Indian Railways on two routes at present. According to details, the train —comprising 18 coaches — reached Chandigarh railway station from Chennai around 7.45 am on Thursday, with its trial likely to start from Friday. The train will be tested at a speed of 110 kmph on the 91km Chandigarh-Sanahwal stretch. Post the seven day trial here, the train will be taken to Kota in Rajasthan for high speed (180 kmph) trials. Getting ready to roll - 3rd Vande Bharat Train reaches stabling line in Chandigarh for speed trial. pic.twitter.com/lAzab4J9W7 — Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) August 18, 2022 The trail of Train 18 is being conducted by the Research Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) wing of the Indian Railways. The Vande Bharat train was manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. A team of ICF officials is accompanying the train to keep an eye on the performance of the coaches during its trial runs, which, sources said, will comprise many things — including clocking the train's speed, its impact on the railway tracks, the comfort of the passengers etc. A schedule of the train's trial run is yet to be released. Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Ambala, Gurinder Mohan Singh, said, "The trial runs will be conducted for at least a week. There is a dedicated line between Chandigarh and Ludhiana via Sahnewal on which the train will run. Trial runs are a routine practice here. Dummy loads, weighing around 50kg each, will be put on the train at many places during the trial run. The RDSO officials will analyse the performance of the train at the end of the trial week." The Vande Bharat Express's exterior appearance consists of aerodynamic design, which tapers at both ends to combat air resistance. It has a driver cabin at each end, allowing for faster turnaround at terminating stations. The train has passenger cars, with a seating capacity of 1,128 passengers. It has two first class compartments with 52 seats each, with the rest being coach compartments seating 78 each.
