India's fastest train Vande Bharat hits production roadblocks days after Piyush Goyal praises it for quality

Vande Bharat Express, India’s first indigenous semi high-speed train has come to a grinding halt at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai days after Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal praises its quality.

Concluded the meeting with train set manufacturers and held discussions to ensure manufacturing of good quality train sets(like Vande Bharat Express).

Also, put forward suggestions to Make in India and supply to the world. pic.twitter.com/IwSA7uRFOX

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) July 2, 2019

The train is designed and to be developed by a Chennai-based Railways Production unit, Integral Coach Factory in just 18 months which also includes the in-house design and manufacture, computer modelling and working, etc. But all productions have been halted. The objective was to roll out a world-class train at the lowest possible cost and highest output in terms of operational efficiency, safety, and comfort. “Team ICF achieved this goal and Train18 was showcased as a game changer in the industry. Now, some turf issues have cropped up on the ownership of the train that will be the future of the Indian Railways,” a railway official told The Hindu. [caption id=“attachment_6955221” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Vande Bharat Express. ANI[/caption] Vande Bharat express, also known as ‘Train 18’, can run up to a maximum speed of 160 kilometres per hour, has travel classes like Shatabdi Train but with better facilities in a bid to provide a totally new travel experience to passengers. In February this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flagged off the train’s maiden run from New Delhi to Varanasi. This is the nearest railway station to the Vaishno Devi shrine, the train will obviously come as a boon to pilgrims who can afford to travel in upscale, air-conditioned comfort. This would be the second five-days a week Vande Bharat train, after the one that plies between New Delhi and Varanasi, between Yamuna-nagri and Ganga-nagri. The second trial for Vande Bharat Express was successfully completed in Kanpur Central Railway station on 4 July. The trial was conducted between New Delhi Railway Station and Kanpur Central. “Currently, the train is undergoing operational trials in which we look at its operational feasibility. We are conducting many tests and when it meets all our standards, it will go into service. It will be running between New Delhi Railway Station and Kanpur Central”, said Himanshu, director, Kanpur Central Railway Station. Adding up the green footprints, this fully ‘Make in India’ train has regenerative braking system in the coaches which can save up to 30 percent of electrical energy. With inputs from ANI