16 coaches, 1,128 seats, 180 km speed: Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam 'Vande Bharat Express' to chug from Jan 15

Hyderabad: High-speed 'Vande Bharat Express from Secunderabad to Visakhapatnam will chug on January 15. It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Sankranthi gift to Telugu states. PM will virtually inaugurate the train on January 15.

Union Tourism Ministers Kishan Reddy and Union IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will be present at Secunderabad Railway station at the inaugural time.

This will be India's sixth Vande Bharat express, covering 700 km in 8-9 hours at a maximum commercial speed of 140-150 kmph. It would reduce the travel time to 8 hours from 12-14 hours.

The train was initially planned to be launched on January 19, but it was paused after Modi's visit to Hyderabad was postponed. In the latest news, the officials have planned to prepone and operate from Sankranthi.

Trial run:

On January 11, the train arrived at Visakhapatnam railway station for maintenance and a trial run.

Unfortunately, unknown miscreants pelted stones on the Vande Bharat train during its maintenance in Vizag on January 11. The coach glass was broken, and the loss is expected to be Rs 1 lakh. Divisional Railway Manager Anup Satpathy has launched a probe. No one has been detained yet. The repair works are underway at the coach care center for maintenance in Marripapem.

Tentative schedule:

The train will depart from Vizag at 5.45 am and reach Secunderabad at 2.25 pm. The train will have halts at Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, and Warrangal.

The train will depart from Secunderabad at 2.45 pm, and reach Vizag at 11.25 pm.

The train will run services every day. Railway officials have initially planned for more halts at the stations, but as it would increase the travel time, they have limited the halts to only three stations. Compared to trains that run from Vizag to Secunderabad, it is the fastest train saving almost three hours.

For example, Garib Rath (11.10 hours), Falaknama (11.25 hrs), Godavari (12.05 hrs), East Coast (12.40 hrs), and Janmabhoomi (12.45 hrs).

Features:

-AC train with 16 coaches with a capacity of 1,128 seats

-The train has an intelligent braking system that enables better acceleration and deacceleration.

-Vande Bharat trains can reach a speed of 0-100 km per hour in 52 seconds, with a top-up speed of 180 kmph.

-All coaches are equipped with automatic doors, GPS-based audio-visual passenger information systems, and diving-friendly facilities.

-Hotspot wifi on board for entertainment purposes.

-Executive class has rotating chairs.

-Bio-vacuum model toilets

-Pantry facility will serve meals and beverages

Future plans:

Further, the officials are also finding possibilities to extend Vande Bharat train services to Tirupati. If the train runs from Secunderabad- Tirupati, it will reduce time and passenger rush from Vijayawada.

Vande Bharat trains are currently running on New Delhi-Varanasi, New Delhi-Katra, Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar, New Delhi-Amb Andaura, and MGR Chennai Central-Mysuru routes.