The trial run was conducted for familiarising the train operating crew with the working of the train set, route, signals and other safety parameters like Level Crossing Gates, block working, etc. and also to acquaint the onboard coach maintenance crew about the train interiors and various technical features of the train, read a press statement from Southern Railway.
The trial special Vande Bharat train departed from Dr MGR Chennai Central on Monday and reached Mysuru with stoppages at Katpadi and KSR Bengaluru. In the return direction, the trial run special departed from Mysuru Junction today and reach Dr MGR Chennai Central.
General Managers of South Western Railway and Southern Railway, Divisional Railway Managers of Chennai, Bangalore, and Mysore Divisions, other Senior Officials and Staff of Southern and South Western Railway were on the trial run.
The Chennai-Mysore Vande Bharat Express train will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 11, the first such indigenously-built high-speed rail in the southern part of India and the country's fifth.
The first Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off on February 15, 2019, on the New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route.
The new avatar of high speed train Vande Bharat i.e. Vande Bharat 2. Vande Bharat 2 is equipped with more advancements and improved features like 0 to 100 Kmpl speed in just 52 second, maximum speed up to 180 Kmph, lesser weight of 392 ton instead of 430 ton and WI-FI content on demand. New Vande Bharat will also have 32-inch LCD TVs which was of 24 inch in earlier version. 15 percent more energy efficient ACs with dust free clean air cooling of traction motor will make the travel more comfortable. Side recliner seat facility which is being provided to Executive Class passengers, will now be made available for all classes.
In the new design of Vande Bharat Express, photo-catalytic ultra violet air purification system is installed in the roof mounted Roof Mounted Package Unit (RMPU) for air purification. As recommended by Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), Chandigarh, this system is designed and installed in both ends of RMPU to filter and clean the air free from germs, bacteria, virus, etc. coming through fresh air and return air.
The Vande Bharat 2.0 trains have the KAVACH (Train Collision Avoidance System) for enhanced safety in operations. There will be improved security with four emergency windows added in every coach. There will be four platform side cameras including rear view cameras outside the coach instead of two earlier. The new coaches have Level-II safety integration certification for better train control. The Vande Bharat 2.0 will also have better fire safety measures with Aerosol based fire detection and suppression system in all electrical cubicles and toilets. There will be superior flood proofing for under-slung electrical equipment to withstand floods up to 650 mm height as compared to 400 mm earlier. The train will also have four emergency lightings in every coach in case of electric failure.
