Indian Railways is all set to roll out world-class trains in the coming months – a Vande Bharat sleeper variant, Vande Metro and even a new train with upgraded general and second 3-tier coaches. In an interview with Times of India Online’s Smriti Jain, BG Mallya the General Manager of ICF, Chennai talks about the upcoming projects and how the Vande Bharat sleeper train will be superior to Rajdhani Express. A 1985 batch IRSEE officer, BG Mallya has been in railway service for over three decades. Edited excerpts:
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What is the status of the sleeper Vande Bharat project? How many trains is ICF hoping to manufacture and by when will the prototype be rolled out?
The car body designs are on hand. The look of the interiors is being finalized. One prototype 16-car train is being targeted for roll out in the current fiscal. Thereafter more trains will be rolled out in the following financial years.
How will the sleeper Vande Bharat trains be superior to Rajdhani trains in terms of features and passenger amenities?
The features not there in Rajdhani Express trains that will be provided on the Vande Bharat sleeper trains are:
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On Board Wi-Fi and infotainment
Higher aesthetic standards and ergonomically designed interiors
Soft lighting
Public address and passenger information system.
Smoke and fire detection.
Passenger Car surveillance system
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Digital destination board
Centralised coach monitoring system
Emergency talk back unit
Train collision avoidance system (Kavach)
How many more Vande Bharat chair car trains will ICF roll out this fiscal?
A total of 75 trains of the chair car version are targeted for roll out in the current year. Of these, 25 have already been turned out.
What have the ‘Make in India’ learnings been for a project of this scale?
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The key learnings are the need to create adequate capacity within the country for forged wheels & axles and integrated circuits. For both these items, the Ministry of Railways have already taken action. For forged wheels, a contract for about 15 lakh wheels over 20 years has been awarded in June this year to a consortium of Ramkrishna Forgings and Titagarh Wagons.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has also announced the Vande Metro project. At what stage is the project at present?
The designs are on hand and the prototype rake is targeted for roll out in the current fiscal.
A new train is being manufactured with upgrades to second class unreserved and second class 3-tier sleeper coaches. Tell us about the project.
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This train would be a 22-car train with 12 non-AC Sleeper cars, 8 General Second Class cars and 2 Luggage-cum-Guard vans. These coaches would be manufactured at ICF. This train would have two dedicated WAP5 locomotives of aerodynamic design and suitable for push-pull operation with one locomotive at each end of the train.
These trains would have gangways, semi-permanent couplers, destination boards and superior interiors for enhanced safety and passenger comforts. This train is targeted for roll out in the current year.
