According to the instructions of the Railway Ministry, the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai will construct an eight-car Vande Bharat trainset as a pilot, which will be a scaled-down rendition of the existing 16-car train. ICF currently produces Vande Bharat trains with 16 cars.
The Introduction Of 8-Car Vande Bharat Trains
On top of meeting the needs of sectors with low passenger traffic, the introduction of these smaller 8-car trains will speed up the introduction of more trains. The increased demand between states will be lessened. There are a few trails that don’t have enough passengers for a 16-coach train to run, but these trails would be ideal for an eight or twelve-car Vande Bharat.
In a recent letter to the ICF, the Railway Board said that it had been decided to produce an eight-car Vande Bharat rake as a proof of concept that might be expanded to a 12/16/20/24-car arrangement. According to traffic demand and POC results, the precise arrangement of the lanes will be chosen.
The Pilot Project Of 8-Car Train To Be Executed
According to sources, once an eight-car train’s design is completed, one train will be produced as a pilot project. It will only be formalised once this project proves to be a success. They added that given the reduced number of coaches, there may be an effort to maximize the number of seats in each one, all the while taking care of the passengers’ comfort as well.
There have been calls to operate the eight Vande Bharat trains that are now travelling between significant cities.
Furthermore, according to officials, the shorter Vande Bharat trains will make it easier for the railways to move them for important maintenance and repairs. These trainsets must be hauled in their entirety to the yards for repairs or maintenance because they are single units, as opposed to conventional trains.
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