(Image source from: Facebook.com/RailMinIndia)
The average speed of Vande Bharat trains has come down from 84.48 kmph in 2020-21 to 76.25 kmph in 2023-24. The Ministry of Railways responded to an RTI query that "major infrastructure works" are taking place at an alarming rate. "Some Vande Bharat trains also run in difficult areas where there are speed restrictions due to geographical reasons or extreme weather conditions," said a railway official. Citing the example of the Vande Bharat train running between Mumbai CST and Madgaon, a Central Railway Zone official said, “Most of the Konkan railway section is a 'ghat' where trains pass through low-lying mountain ranges. It's difficult terrain." Increasing speed affects safety.`` “It is a big problem during monsoon when all trains have to maintain a maximum speed of 75 kmph,” he added.
Chandra Shekhar Kaur, RTI applicant from Madhya Pradesh: “Data obtained through RTI shows that the average speed of Vande Bharat trains was 84.48 kmph in 2020-21, a jump from 81.38 kmph increased to between 2022-2023. Then it deteriorated to 76.25. Vande Bharat was commissioned on 15 February 2023 and is a semi-express train capable of a maximum speed of 160 km/h due to lack of power. Tracks in the country There are several tracks between Delhi and Agra which were manufactured for the company in 2016. Vande Bharat reaches a speed of 160 kmph only on these stretches. At other places, the speed is 130 or less,” said another railway official. The railways is upgrading the tracks to meet the Vande Bharat coach speed requirements and "due to these reasons there are warnings at several places," he said. “Once this update is done, we will have 250 km. There will be fast trains," said the official.
The routes where Vande Bharat's speed is worse than the overall average include Dehradun - Anand Vihar (63.42 kmph), Patna - Ranchi (62.9 kmph) and Coimbatore - Bangalore Cantt (58. 11 km/h). Rail construction experts say the first Bharat Van was launched in February 2019 and more than five years later, tracks on all routes are still being replaced to ensure trains run at top speed. 160 kmph The railways argues that the speed of Vande Bharat trains is limited due to ongoing infrastructure work on new railway lines, he said. The expert spoke on condition of remaining anonymous. However, the Railway Ministry claims that Vande Bharat trains are very popular and have been used by more than 2.15 billion people as of March 31. The Vande Bharat features Kavach protection, faster acceleration and performance at semi-high speed up to 160 km/h, fully enclosed ramps for free movement of passengers, automatic doors, ergonomic reclining seats, swivel seats in executive class, including comfortable seats , which improve driving comfort among other things. “A total of 284 regions across the country are connected to Vande Bharat Express and the number continues to increase,” railway officials said.
