Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the ‘Vande Bharat’ train from Mysuru to Chennai via Bengaluru on November 11. The train is the South’s first semi-high-speed train and the country’s fifth. There are already several trains that run between Bengaluru and Chennai: the Shatabdi Express, the Brindavan Express, the Mass Double-Decker, the Guwahati Express, the Lalbagh Express, the Chennai Express, the Kaveri Express, and the Chennai Mail, but the ‘Vande Bharat’ is unique in terms of speed and facilities, according to railway officials.
They claimed that the train would shorten travel time and provide a novel travel experience. “The train can travel at a speed of 160 km per hour. If run in full capacity, the train can touch Chennai from Bengaluru in just three hours,” a railway official stated. According to officials, Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, a railway production unit, developed the train, which has an intelligent braking system that allows for better acceleration and deceleration.
All the coaches are equipped with automatic doors, GPS-based audio-visual passenger information system, on-board hotspot Wi-Fi for entertainment purposes, and comfortable seats. The executive class has rotating chairs, the authorities said. “It is much more than the conventional Shatabdi rake of equal number of coaches,” an officer said.
