Watch: Vande Bharat clocks 180kmph; passes 'water test'
Vande Bharat sleeper train has touched the 180 kmph speed mark during speed trials by the Commissioner Railway Safety. The new train set is a sleeper variant of the popular Vande Bharat chair car service and is set to be launched soon.
Vande Bharat sleeper clocks 180 kmph in trials
Vande Bharat sleeper train launch soon! Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday shared an important update on the Vande Bharat sleeper train, posting a video on X (formerly Twitter) of the train’s speed trial.
The new train touched 180 kmph speeds - its maximum- during trial runs between the Kota-Nagda section of the Indian Railways network.What caught the attention was the finely balanced glasses of water from which not a drop of spilt despite the train touching its maximum design speed of 180 kmph. “Vande Bharat Sleeper tested today by Commissioner Railway Safety. It ran at 180 kmph between Kota Nagda section. And our own water test demonstrated the technological features of this new generation train,” Ashwini Vaishnaw posted on X.
Vande Bharat Sleeper Clocks 180 Kmph Speed: Watch Video
Vande Bharat sleeper train is set to be launched soon for long-distance overnight travel. As the name suggests, the train is a sleeper class variant of the Vande Bharat chair car train that is currently in service on the Indian Railways network. Two prototype rakes of the all air-conditioned Vande Bharat sleeper train have been manufactured by BEML and are currently in testing phase.Indian Railways is preparing a major overhaul of long-distance rail travel, with plans to introduce more than 200 Vande Bharat sleeper trains over the next few years.
Multiple manufacturing programmes are underway to support this initiative.Also Read | Vande Bharat sleeper, Amrit Bharat with AC coaches & more - what will train travel on Indian Railways look like in 2026? BEML, in collaboration with the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), is manufacturing 10 sleeper train sets. Another 10 sets are being developed by Kinet, a joint venture between Indian and Russian partners. In addition, a consortium comprising Titagarh Rail Systems and BHEL has been awarded a contract to build 80 sleeper variants. Separately, ICF is also working on an in-house sleeper version of the Vande Bharat train.
Vande Bharat Sleeper Train Features
- The first two prototypes of the Vande Bharat sleeper have 16 coaches, including 11 air-conditioned three-tier coaches, four air-conditioned two-tier coaches, and one air-conditioned first-class coach.