Mumbai, 5 October (HS). Indian Railways is all

set to introduce the Vande Bharat sleeper train between Mumbai and Bengaluru. A

notification regarding this service is likely to be issued by the Railway Board

soon. According to sources, the train may be flagged off by the end of this

month. With the launch of this service, the travel time between

Mumbai-Bengaluru is expected to reduce to less than 16 hours from the current

around 24 hours.

According to the proposed timetable, this premium

sleeper train can run 6 days a week in both directions.

At present, the Udyan Express, which runs between

Mumbai and Bengaluru, takes around 24 hours on an average to cover this

distance. In such a situation, the introduction of Vande Bharat Sleeper is

likely to save a lot of time for the passengers.

As per the tentative schedule, the train may leave

KSR Bengaluru at 10 pm and reach Mumbai CSMT at 1: 50 pm the next day. In the

return direction, the train is expected to leave Mumbai CSMT at 10.30 pm and

reach Bengaluru at 01.50 pm the next day. However, this timetable is not yet

final and may be modified by the railway administration. Possible halts of the

train may include Anantapur, Guntakal, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Solapur, and

Kalyan.

The Vande Bharat sleeper train will have a total of

16 passenger coaches. These will include 11 AC 3-tier, four AC 2-tier and one

AC First Class coaches. The train is designed to run at a maximum speed of 160

kilometres per hour. During testing, its speed has been reached up to 180

kilometers per hour. However, the speed of regular operations will be

determined according to the infrastructure capacity of the railway line

concerned.

The indigenously developed 'Kavach' anti-collision

system has been installed in the Vande Bharat sleeper train for the safety of

passengers. In addition, regenerative braking technology has been used to save

energy. Automatic interconnecting doors have been installed between the

coaches. The track between the coaches has been completely sealed, which will

help maintain clean air and temperature control inside the train. The train

will also have a centralised coach monitoring system. A facility has also been

provided for passengers to directly contact the loco pilot in case of

emergency.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Ajay Vasant Mardikar