Union Minister for Home Affairs, Amit Shah flagged off the New Delhi-Katra 'Vande Bharat' Express in New Delhi today in presence of Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal and other dignitaries.
This is the second ‘Vande Bharat’ express after the New Delhi - Varanasi semi-high speed train flagged off by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi in February this year. The coaches of this train are indigenously manufactured at the Chennai Rail coach factory.
Speaking on the occasion, Amit Shah congratulated the Ministry of Railways for giving a big gift to the people of the country, in this Navratras. He said that religious tourism has a very important role in the development and progress of Jammu-Kashmir. Every citizen of India has a desire to visit Vaishno devi Temple at least once in the lifetime. From the day he took charge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi put forward a vision to connect places of religious interest across the country with a safe, efficient and comfortable high-speed railway network. A number of steps have already been taken by the government to facilitate pilgrims to visit the places of their religious interest. The ‘Vande Bharat’ express is one big step in that direction while keeping in mind speed, scale and service as the prime priority, he said.
Remembering Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th anniversary, Shah said that Bapu gave a philosophy to the world of how to derive simple solutions to the biggest of problems. One such philosophy during the freedom movement was 'Swadeshi' and railways played an integral part in Gandhiji's struggle for freedom by forming a connect with the people of India, he said. Shri Shah expressed pride in saying that this ‘Vande Bharat’ express is totally ‘Swadeshi’ and is at par with the latest rail transport technology across the world. This train is a big tribute that Shri Modi has given to the ideals of Bapu, with his vision of 'Make in India', he added. The Home Minister urged the Railway Minister to chart out the role of Railways in Gandhiji's journey during the freedom struggle, during the 'Gandhi@150' celebrations.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal said that “Today, Vande Bharat is going to be launched between New Delhi to Katra on the auspicious occasion of Navratri in the presence of Hon’ble Home Minister of India, Shri Amit Shah. The blessing of Mata Vaishno Devi will give a thrust to the development of Jammu Kashmir and Vande Bharat is an example of that development which is going to start its journey today. The entire family of Indian Railways assure that Indian Railways will always assist Hon’ble Minister of Home Affairs in this series of development of Jammu Kashmir. Vande Bharat will serve like Shravankumar, it will help common people take their parents to Katra. Today I applaud the efforts of employees of Indian Railways who are working in the arrangement of this train. As aspired by Hon’ble Prime Minister that stations will be converted into the hub of technology and expansion of Indian Railways will connect villages to the rest of the country. Today, 5000 stations have been equipped with the free Wi-Fi facilities. Indian Railways has also succeeded in making its all stations healthy and clean and Indian Railways has conducted cleanliness programme across 6500 stations.
Salient features & Backgrounder:-
Speed, Scale and Service are the hallmarks of this Make-in-India success story. The first Vande Bharat Express, New Delhi to Varanasi was flagged off on 15th Feb. 2019 by Prime Minister with service on all days except Monday and Thursday. Vande Bharat Express has been tested at 180 kmph and can run upto maximum speed of 160 kmph on passenger service. The Vande Bharat Express has more seating capacity that the conventional Shatabdi train with equal number of coaches. The train has 16 highly advanced air-conditioned coaches including 02 executive class coaches. All Coaches are equipped with automatic doors; GPS based audio-visual passenger information system, onboard hotspot, wi-fi for entertainment purposes, and very comfortable seating. The chairs in executive class can rotate freely to face the direction of motion or the fellow co-passengers. All toilets are Bio-vacuum type. The lighting is dual mode, viz. Diffused for general illumination and personal for every seat. Every coach as a pantry with facility to serve hot meals with hot and cold beverages. Advance insulation has been provided to keep heat and noise to very low levels for additional passenger comfort. Facility for Divyangjan to enter Driving Trailer coach using wheelchair and persons with disabilities friendly toilets have also been provided.
The train has continuous windows for modern and sleek look. Aerodynamic shape of the nose cone and fully sealed gangway are in line with the overall theme of the modern train set and will lead to lowered energy requirement by reduction of air drag. As another step toward green initiatives, the train has been provided with regenerative brake system which can lead to savings of up to 30% in electrical energy consumption.
The present Vande Bharat to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra shall be running at a maximum speed of 130 km on this route and shall cover the distance between New Delhi-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra in 08 hours. A reduction of 4 hours from the current fastest train, will thus be achieved. This will meet the demand of passengers for a high speed, direct and premier service to Katra from New Delhi.
More features have been incorporated in this rail service to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra to increase passenger comfort. The area for the pantry facilities has been increased, deep freezers have been added, there is wider access area in vestibules, anti-spall film has been provided on window glasses, individual access panel for window blinds, improvements in washroom amenities, provision of centralized loading of infotainment data, etc. Roller blind sun screen has been provided on look out glass to protect train pilots from glare and improved insulation is there to reduce noise level in driver’s cab. Phone handsets have been provided for direct communication between train pilots and guard.
The train has been the outcome of project undertaken by Indian Railways to fulfill the Prime Minister’s vision of Make-in-India. The features and amenities of the train match global standards of performance, safety and passenger comfort, with all the major systems being designed and made in India. A quantum jump in meeting aspirations of the travelling public has been achieved. It is anticipated that the advance features and passenger amenities shall provide world class travel experience to passengers and devotees. It is in the fitness of things that this train is being started on the auspicious occasion of Navratra.
Schedule of 22439/22440 New Delhi - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra – New Delhi Vande Bharat Express Train
The regular service of 22439/22440 New Delhi - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra- New Delhi Vande Bharat Express Train will commence from 05.10.2019.
The 22439 New Delhi – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande Bharat Express Train will depart from New Delhi at 06.00 a.m. to reach Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 02.00 p.m. the same day. In return direction, the 22440 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra – New Delhi Vande Bharat Express Train will depart from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 03.00 p.m. to reach New Delhi at 11.00 p.m. the same day. The Train will run six days a week except Tuesday . Comprising of 02 Executive AC Chair Car & 12 Chair Car coaches, the Train will stop at Ambala Cantt., Ludhiana & Jammu Tawi stations enroute in both the directions.
