This is an archive article published on February 9, 2023

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From facilities to food, here’s all you need to know about Maharashtra’s two new Vande Bharat trains

According to the railways, the Vande Bharat Express is a new age train which will redefine passenger travel in India.

A reflection of the Vande Bharat at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, during the trial sessions on the eve of the inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Express photo by Pradip Das)

Written by: Sweety Adimulam

5 min readMumbaiFeb 9, 2023 09:50 PM IST First published on: Feb 9, 2023 at 09:50 PM IST

The Central Railway Thursday rolled out the red carpet for the new Vande Bharat Express trains, which will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday from the CSTM station in Mumbai.

According to the railways, the Vande Bharat Express is a new age train which will redefine passenger travel in India.

Bookings for the two routes will open Friday 8 am onwards

The new and upgraded version, 2.0, of the Vande Bharat Express trains will run between Mumbai and Solapur & Mumbai and Sainagar Shirdi which will be the gateway to the Deccan Plateau and will offer a superior, comfortable and convenient travel experience to the passengers.

These two trains have superior passenger amenities such as on-board Wi-Fi infotainment, GPS-based passenger information system, plush interiors, reclining seats, bio vacuum toilets with touch-free amenities, diffused LED lightings, charging points beneath every seat, individual touch-based reading lights and concealed roller blinds. They also have modern mini pantries and emergency talk-back units for passengers to communicate to crew.

Better heat ventilation and air-conditioning systems with UV lamps for germ-free supply of air have been installed in the trains. The intelligent air-conditioning system adjusts the cooling according to the climate conditions/occupancy, making the journey more comfortable, said railway officials.

Also read | Mumbai’s air quality deteriorates, worse than Delhi’s again

While bookings for the two routes will open Friday 8 am onwards, here’s all you need to know about the two new trains.

Know about the trains on these two routes:

Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express Train

This will be the ninth Vande Bharat Train in the country which will enhance the connectivity between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Solapur. This advanced high-speed train will connect the commercial capital to the city of textiles in Maharashtra

The train will provide faster connectivity to pilgrimage centres like Siddheshwar in Solapur, Akkalkot, Tuljapur, Pandharpur near Solapur and Alandi near Pune. The existing superfast train takes 7 hr 55 minute whereas, Vande Bharat will take 6 hr 30 minute thus saving 1 hr 30 minute travel time.

First Vande Bharat Train to climb 1 in 37 gradient ghat section without banker engine in Bhor ghat or Khandala-Lonavala ghat section (one metre of elevated after every 37 metre)

Mumbai-Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Express Train

This will be the tenth Vande Bharat train in the country which will provide enhanced connectivity between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Sainagar Shirdi. The train will connect the commercial capital to the pilgrimage centres in Maharashtra like Nashik, Trimbakeshwar and Sainagar Shirdi.

This will be the First Vande Bharat Train to climb 1 in 37 gradient ghat without banker engine in Thul ghat i.e. Kasara Ghat.

Maharashtra will have four Vande Bharat trains, including two interstate and two intrastate trains.

Features of Vande Bharat trains

· Indigenously manufactured, semi-high speed self-propelled train set

· 32-inch passenger information and infotainment system in every coach

· Needs 129 seconds to reach 160 kmph

· Better riding comfort for passengers at 3.3 (riding index)

· Level-II Safety Integration Certification for better train control management KAVACH (Train Collision Avoidance System)

· Automatic plug doors and touch-free sliding doors

· Revolving seats in executive class

· Emergency lighting in each coach

· Coach Control Management System for monitoring air-conditioning, communication and feedback to control centre or maintenance staff through GSM or GPRS

· Better heat ventilation and air-conditioning control

· Four platform side cameras, including rear view cameras outside the coach

· Better fire-fighting safety measures such as aspiration-based Fire Detection & Suppression system in all coaches and Aerosol-based Fire Detection & Suppression System in all coaches and Aerosol-based Fire Detection & Suppression System in electrical systems

· Four emergency windows in every coach

· Emergency talk-back units

· Distribution of conditioned air

· Special lavatory for divyangjan passengers

· Driver-guard communication with voice recording

· Bio vacuum toilets with touch-free amenities

· Seat handles are provided with seat numbers in braille letters

· Better flood proofing for under-slung electrical equipment that will withstand floods up to a height of 650 mm

Ticket fare of Vande Bharat Train:

Pune

Executive Class: Rs 1,135

Chair car: Rs 560

Solapur

Executive car: Rs 1,970

Chair Car: Rs 965

Nashik

Executive car: Rs 1,150

Chair Car: Rs 550

Shirdi

Executive Class: Rs 1,630

Chair Car: Rs 800

Menu in Vande Bharat Train:

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, which is in charge of the food service on Vande Bharat trains, will serve the regional delicacies of Maharashtra to the passengers of these two trains enroute Shirdi and Solapur.

Some of the dishes in consideration for the changing menu are breakfast items such as sabudana groundnut khichadi, jowar bhakhri and besan pola, along with sorghum, shengdana chiwda and bhadang.

Dinner items may include groundnut pulao, pea pulao, bhakar, aamti, danyachi usal, jhunka in vegetarian items and sauji chicken, chicken tamda rassa or chicken kolhapuri. The evening snacks include sabudana vada, shegaon kachori, kothimbir vadi, thali peeth, multigrain bhadang, sabudana wada and bhakarwadi.