50 Amrit Bharat trains to be produced at ICF in next 2 years: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw
The Railway Ministry has added 12 major improvements to Amrit Bharat Version 2.0 trains including standard toilets and emergency braking system and 50 such trains will be built at the ICF here in the next two years, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said here on Friday.
Vaishnaw, who inspected the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) and General Manager U Subba Rao, said that the state government should put help to the people above politics and the Center and his department are committed to taking measures for the welfare of the people.
“I am very happy to see Amrit Bharat Version 2.0 (being produced here). As you may remember, Amrit Bharat Version 1.0 was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2024 and based on the experience in the last one year, many improvements have been made in Amrit Bharat Version 2.0,” Vaishnaw told reporters at the ICF here.
Sharing some of the important features that have been improved in Amrit Bharat trains, he said, “12 major improvements have been made in every train. Semi-automatic couplets, modular toilets, seat posts and partitions, emergency talking feature, emergency. brake system, continuous lighting system like Vande Bharat trains, seats and sleepers with new ergonomic design have been improved.” He said that every sleeping car in the Amrit Bharat Version 2.0 trains has been built using a new design.
Targeting low-income and low-income families, he said, “50 such Amrit Bharat Version 2.0 trains will be built in the next two years (at the Integral Coach Factory). This will provide an affordable service and a high-quality travel experience to people traveling long distances. ” Later talking to PTI videos, Vaishnaw said that the Amrit Bharat train is meant to provide a comfortable journey even to the ‘very poor.’ “Amrit Bharat is designed based on the experience of Vande (Bharat) Sleeper and the first version of Amrit Bharat (to be launched in 2024). The standard coach has features like comfortable seats, charging points, mobile phone and water bottle holders. etc,” he said.
In another question, he said the state government should extend its support as the allocation of land to the MEC has become a major problem.
“We need the support of the state government in land acquisition. We must make sure that people’s institutions are above politics and we must look after the welfare of the people first. I have asked the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (MK Stalin) to support us,” he said.
“People of Tamil Nadu want better facilities and the Government of India and the Prime Minister are committed to provide those facilities. If we work together (Centre government and State Government together), then we can provide better services to the people,” he said. .
Answering a question about the arrest of the Railway Safety Commissioner in the construction of the historic Pamban bridge in Rameswaram, he said that the design of the bridge was done based on the Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO).
“If you do the RDSO standard, such a standard of design is done in mass-built bridges. This is a unique bridge. Pamban Bridge is once in your life to design and build a bridge of this kind,” it said.
He cleared the air where the Railway Safety Commissioner was told that this is not an ordinary bridge but a uniquely designed bridge and the services of the best international experts have been engaged to design it. “CRS has heard us and now they have got permission for the construction of the bridge. The panel report is here,” he said.
The minister said that the Railways has installed KAVACH (a facility that will help prevent train accidents) in 10,000 trains and 15,000 kilometers of sidings.
“Telephone towers have been installed. Cameras have been installed in the front of the trains. With a sense of security, new point machines have been designed, as in one incident near Chennai, people took the bolts of the pointing machine. The new designs, the bolts have been fixed and installed in such a way that no one can remove them,” he said.
About the rail link between Jammu and Srinagar, he said it was a ‘dream come true’ project and the Railway Safety Commissioner had conducted speed trials. “It is a very complex system. Of the 110 km distance, about 97 km are under tunnels and 6 km are on bridges. That is a very complex job,” he said.
Regarding the capital expenditure allocated to the Railways, he said that by the end of December 2024, the Department had used about 76 percent and called that the expenditure of the capital allocated to the Railways had become history in 2024.
