Not Saffron, New Varanasi Vande Bharat Train Is White, Blue. Official Explains

The second Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat train, which was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, is of the same white and blue colours as the first one.

A day earlier, the Northern Railway circulated brochures to journalists in which the train was shown in saffron and grey.

"We have plans to convert the present white-blue Vande Bharat into saffron-grey colour in the future because they are in the process of manufacturing at coach factories," a senior Northern Railway official told PTI.

"Keeping in mind the future scenario, we put a saffron-grey coloured Vande Bharat on our brochures," the official said.

Highlighting the train's on-board features, the Northern Railway in a statement said, "The train has superior passenger amenities such as on-board WiFi infotainment, GPS-based passenger information system, plush interiors, bio-vacuum toilets with touch-free conveniences." It also has "diffused LED lighting, charging points beneath every seat, individual touch-based reading lights and concealed roller blinds", it said.

It added that the train has a better heat ventilation and air-conditioning system with UV lamps for germ-free air supply. The intelligent air-conditioning system adjusts cooling according to climate conditions and occupancy, the statement said.

On Monday, the train's inaugural run from Varanasi to New Delhi started around 2.45 pm. However, its scheduled operations will be from 6 am on all days except Tuesday.

The train will reach New Delhi at 2.05 pm and depart for Varanasi at 3 pm. It will reach its destination at 11.05 pm.

The first Vande Bharat train between New Delhi and Varanasi starts from Delhi at 6 am and reaches its destination at 2 pm. It departs for New Delhi at 3 pm and reaches there at 11 pm. It runs six days a week except on Thursdays.

The Railways launched its first saffron-grey coloured Vande Bharat train on September 24 between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

It was one of the nine Vande Bharat trains that PM Modi flagged off on September 24 through videoconferencing.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a recent interaction with journalists had also dismissed the notion that there is any politics behind launching orange or saffron-coloured Vande Bharat trains, saying the choice of colours was informed by scientific thought.

"For human eyes, two colours are supposed to be the most visible - yellow and orange. In Europe, almost 80 per cent of trains have either orange or a combination of yellow and orange," Vaishnaw had said.

According to Mr Vaishnaw, there are many other colours, such as silver, which are bright like yellow and orange, but "if we talk about it from the point of view of visibility to the human eye, these two colours are considered to be the best." Mr Vaishnaw had asserted there is no politics behind it and it is a 100 per cent scientific thought.