Anti-fire cables, accessible emergency buttons: Board asks RDSO to look into CCRS recommendations for Vande Bharat sleeper train

The board has also granted various zonal railways the sanction to introduce 16-car Vande Bharat sleeper rakes with a maximum speed of 160 kmph.

While granting approval to the sleeper train in September, the CCRS, a railway safety audit body under the Ministry of Civil Aviation that authorises the operation of new train services, had directed several improvements to enhance passenger safety.

According to the Railway Board’s communication on Tuesday, the CCRS has said that for all future variants of Vande Bharat trainsets, standard specifications shall be prepared by RDSO. It should be ensured that the specifications are followed by all manufacturing units for future production, the Board further said in its communication to RDSO.

A key highlight of the CCRS’s suggestions was to explore the implementation of Arc Fault Detection Device (AFDD), which was part of the recommendation of investigation into the November 2023 fire that broke out in a coach of a Darbhanga-bound train (02570) at Sarai Bhopat Railway station in Uttar Pradesh. AFDD is part of a fire safety system that detects dangerous electrical arcs and automatically disconnects the affected circuit.

The report also highlighted the need to relocate the air-conditioning duct in the First AC coaches, currently provided in the corner of the floor. Similarly, it said that the emergency alarm buttons, seen hidden behind upper berth connector consoles, must be shifted to a more visible and easily reachable location for passengers.

The CCRS has emphasised the use of fire-survival cables for systems such as CCTV and the Crash Hardened Memory Module (CHMM) to avoid fire incidents. Besides, the safety audit body has called for third-party audits to certify compliance with EN 45545 fire safety standards and EN 15227 crashworthiness norms. EN 45545 and EN 15227 are European standards for fire protection and crashworthiness, respectively, in new rolling stocks.

A total of 10 16-coach Vande Bharat Sleeper trains are under production by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) – the Indian Railways’ manufacturing unit in Chennai. Another 50 Vande Bharat Sleeper rakes will be produced by ICF in future.

In addition, the contracts for manufacturing of 200 Vande Bharat Sleeper rakes have been awarded. Of these, KINET Railway Solutions Limited, an Indo-Russia joint venture, is required to supply 120 trains of 16 cars each.

Touted to be an advanced version of the semi-high speed Vande Bharat trains, which are currently in operation, the sleeper train is aimed at passengers looking to make medium and long-distance overnight journeys.

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