Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express to be operational before Dussehra; Railway Board says 40 trains will be ready by 2022
FirstpostWhile the Delhi-Katra train will have modifications like more comfortable seats and pantry space, the others, for which the bidding process will begin next month, will weigh less, consume lesser energy and will be fit for sleeper coaches New Delhi: The second Vande Bharat Express, which will run on the high traffic Delhi-Katra route, will begin operations before the festival season, Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav said on Tuesday, adding that 40 such trains with sleeper class versions will be ready by 2022. “While the Delhi-Katra train will have modifications like more comfortable seats and pantry space, the others, for which the bidding process will begin next month, will weigh less, consume lesser energy and will be fit for sleeper coaches,” Yadav said. “The Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express has completed all trials and will be run before the festival season begins from October,” he said. Seeking to clarify allegations of malpractice in the production of the first two trains, Yadav conceded that “irregularities” were found in the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, which produced the trains, but the inquiry being conducted, he said, was not specific to the Vande Bharat Express.