look news india
The landscape of long-distance travel on the Indian Railways network is going to change completely as the country’s two biggest economic and technology hubs—Mumbai and Bengaluru—are now going to be directly connected on semi-high-speed tracks. South Western Railways (SWR) is all set to launch the first Vande Bharat Sleeper Express train between Bengaluru and Mumbai from November 1. Existing express trains took 22 to 25 hours to cover a distance of approximately 1,200 kilometers (approximately 1,118–1,208 km) on this route. But the new Vande Bharat Sleeper train will cover this entire distance in just 15 to 16 hours, which will directly save 6 to 8 hours for the passengers. It has been planned to flag off this much awaited train on the occasion of Karnataka Rajyotsava on 1st November.
The main objective of Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper Train is to make night travel safe, fast and extremely comfortable. As per the proposed timetable, this train will depart from Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal (SMVT), Bengaluru at 7:50 pm and reach Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Mumbai at 11:55 am the next day. In the return direction, this train will depart from Mumbai (CSMT) at 8:10 pm and reach Bengaluru at 11:55 am the next morning. This means that passengers will be able to board the train in the evening and have a restful sleep the whole night and start working directly in their destination city the next morning. According to reports, this premium semi-high-speed train will run 6 days a week.
This entire route connecting Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra has been designed keeping in mind speed and fewer curves. This train will pass through the main tracks of Kalaburagi and Pune. Limited and strategic commercial stoppages have been scheduled for the convenience of passengers en route. Its main stoppages will include Anantapur, Guntakal, Raichur, Kalaburagi (Gulbarga), Solapur, Pune and Kalyan Junction. Due to these stoppages, not only the two big metros but also the businessmen and daily commuters of the industrial and commercial cities lying on the way will get the direct benefit of faster connectivity from the Rajdhani Express.
A total of 16 coaches have been included in this new Vande Bharat sleeper rake. These will have 11 AC 3-Tier coaches, 4 AC 2-Tier coaches and 1 luxury First Class AC coach. There will be sleeping arrangements for a total of 823 passengers in the entire train. Talking about modern facilities, its coaches have been provided with padded berths designed on the lines of European trains, easily opening middle berth with hydraulic damper, bio-vacuum toilets with aircraft-like technology, special washrooms for disabled passengers and baby-care stations. Hot water shower facility will also be available for First AC passengers. Apart from this, automatic sliding doors, Wi-Fi based infotainment and separate LED night lights have been installed on each berth for night reading.
On the safety front, this train is fitted with Indian Railways’ indigenous ‘Kavach’ anti-collision technology, which completely prevents head-on collision. Along with this, every coach has 360-degree CCTV surveillance, automatic fire detection sensors and emergency talk-back units. An official notification regarding ticket rates is yet to be issued by the Railway Board, but according to railway sources, the estimated fare for the 1,200 km journey from Bengaluru to Mumbai is likely to be around ₹ 2,600 to ₹ 2,684 in AC three-tier, ₹ 3,400 to ₹ 3,466 in AC two-tier and around ₹ 4,250 in first class AC. Booking of this train will be started on IRCTC website and mobile app with its official launch.