Indian Railways To Launch Vande Metro By December 2023: Railway Minister

After the introduction of the semi-high speed train Vande Bharat Express in various cities of the country, the Ministry of Railways is also working on a plan to connect big cities with short distances by metro rail network, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.

ANI quotes Vaishnaw saying, "Vande Metro is being built with the concept that trains can run at a very high frequency, i.e., 4 or 5 times a day in cities with a distance of fewer than 100 kilometres, which is very comfortable and affordable. The train will be ready by December". He said that the plan to run Vande Bharat Metro has been prepared on the basis of the response received by Vande Bharat.

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"This will enable job seekers and students to get world-class transport from one city to another with saving time. Along with this, it will also help in reducing the pressure of congestion on local trains," he added.

Giving information about the concept of a High-Speed Test Track, which has been prepared for the first time to speed up the construction of high-speed trains, the Railway Minister said, "In the last nine years, Prime Minister Modi has made many sectors a hub of exports. Be it defense, IT, electronics, today India has emerged as a big exporter in all these sectors". He said that for India to emerge as a big exporter for railways, the development of testing tracks is important.

"The test track consists of several facilities wherein the train and the signaling system are tested on different parameters. Work on the test track is progressing at a fast pace. It will benefit a lot. Today, Vande Bharat is being discussed a lot, and India will emerge as its exporter in the coming times. For this, all the work of testing and testing must be on the test track," he added.

It is notable that a new BG Dedicated Test Track of 59 Km is being developed between Gudha-ThathanaMithri in Jodhpur Division (about 70 Km from Jaipur) in Rajasthan. India will be the first country to have comprehensive testing facilities for rolling stocks, as per UIC-518/EN-14363, reports ANI.

The project consists of a mainline (23 Km), a High-speed loop at Gudha (13 Km), an Accelerated testing loop at Nawa (3 Km), and a curve testing loop at Mithri (20) Km). Comprehensive testing facilities of rolling stocks and components, viz. testing of riding characteristics/behaviour of the vehicles as per UIC-518 and EN-14262 by dynamic measurements at semi-high speed, the study of rail-wheel inter-action forces, Crashworthiness testing, Stability testing, Curve testing, and Accelerated testing of components are being developed in the project.220 Kmph OHE and all types of signalling systems are also being provided in the test track. Rolling stocks manufactured across the world will be tested at facilities being developed in Rajasthan.

A twisted track (4.5 km) for stability testing of rolling stocks has been completed and commissioned. Work of 31.5 km high-speed stretch and 3 km accelerated testing loop is in full swing and will be completed by Dec 2023.

Testing and trial of various rolling stocks, including semi-high-speed trains (Vande Bharat trains sets), will start in 2023-24 at the facilities being developed at Nawa in Rajasthan. Land acquisition for the curve testing loop at Mithri (20 km) is in the advanced stage, and this stretch will also be in operation by the end of 2024. Till such time, curve testing will be done at other identified sections of Indian Railways.