New Vande Bharat trains to Super App, Indian Railways to redefine travel in next 5 years: Ashwini Vaishnaw

From Vande Bharat sleeper, chair car and metro trains to a Super App to make passengers journey seamless, the capacity of the Indian Railways, which witnessed a tremendous transformation in the last 10 years, will expand very rapidly in the next five years, Union Railways and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has very clearly laid out its vision to further bolster the Indian Railways in its manifesto.

“It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantee that the capacity of the Railways will be expanded very rapidly in the next five years,” Ashwini Vaishnaw told IANS in a candid conversation.

The Vande Bharat train has three versions — sleeper, chair car and metro. While the Chair car version is already running on tracks, the first car body of the Vande Bharat sleeper is ready and the first sleeper train could be ready in the next five-six months.

“By these three Vande Bharat trains, great facilities and travel experiences are being provided to the passengers. The fourth, Amrit Bharat train, will be manufactured in large numbers in the near future so that anyone can travel long distances comfortably,” Ashwini Vaishnaw informed.

The Union Minister recently visited Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) facility in Bengaluru to inspect the progress of Vande Bharat sleeper coaches.

At least 10 Vande Bharat Sleeper trains will be introduced for a trial period in a span of six months. All Vande Bharat sleeper trains will come pre-fitted with the ‘Kavach’ anti-collision system.

Ashwini Vaishnaw told IANS that for ease of travel, a Super App will be created so that every facility related to all kinds of rail travel can be addressed comfortably through the app.

The comprehensive Super App has been designed to serve as a one-stop solution for railway commuters.

It will provide a slew of services like ticket booking, train tracking and other railway-related queries to make the customer experience better, including the introduction of a 24-hour ticket refund scheme.

The Union Minister said that in the next five years, Railways, which is a strong link in the growth of the country’s economy, “will be further strengthened and the facilities, especially for the passengers, will be expanded at a much faster pace”.

Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) is the world’s biggest railway station redevelopment programme. To date, 1,321 stations out of 7,000 have been selected by the Railways for redevelopment.

“The redevelopment of 1,321 stations is going on and will be completed soon. After that, all the other medium and big stations will also be included in the station redevelopment programme,” Ashwini Vaishnaw told IANS.