Vande Bharat Express, during its trial run between Delhi and Katra, arrives at Jammu Tawi railway station
India's fastest train Vande Bharat Express's trial run from New Delhi to Katra was successfully conducted by the Indian Railways' Northern Railway zone on Tuesday. Abhinav Singhla, Ludhiana Station Director, while speaking to news agency ANI, said, "The trial run was conducted successfully. This train is better than Shatabdi Express; it runs at a speed of 160 km per hour."
"Vande Bharat is one of the best and premium trains in India. It is an indigenous and fully automatic train," he added.
Vande Bharat's trial run started from New Delhi Railway Station on Monday.
Vande Bharat's second trial run was successfully completed in Kanpur Central Railway station earlier this month. The trial was conducted between New Delhi Railway Station and Kanpur Central.
Vande Bharat express, also dubbed as "Train 18", can run up to a maximum speed of 160 kmph and has travel classes like Shatabdi trains, but with better facilities in a bid to provide a new travel experience to passengers.
The features of the train include a GPS-based audio-visual passenger information system, onboard hotspot Wi-Fi for entertainment purposes, pantry and bio-vacuum toilets. The train has also been equipped with improved seating, a facility for freezer, hot case and other technical improvements based on passenger feedback.
In February this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flagged off the train's maiden run from New Delhi to Varanasi.
The train is designed and developed by Chennai-based Railways Production unit Integral Coach Factory in 18 months which also included the in-house design, manufacture, computer modelling and working.