Indian Railways to Test Vande Metro: Swift and Advanced Intracity Express Set for Trial Runs on Key Routes

The Railways is gearing up for the trial run of Vande Metro, an intracity version of the popular Vande Bharat Express. Routes under consideration reportedly include Central-Arakkonam, Chennai Beach-Chengalpattu, Chennai-Tirupati, Lucknow-Kanpur, and Agra-Mathura.

Currently, electric passenger trains dominate the Chennai to Arakkonam and Chengalpattu routes. The Railways is assessing the feasibility of deploying Vande Metro on these routes, as per a Maalaimalar report.

Earlier reports highlighted Vande Metro`s advanced technology, allowing for swift acceleration and deceleration, facilitating more stoppages without compromising runtime. The Railways aims to commence testing within a couple of months, with a target for rollout this year.

Vande Metro will feature a unique coach configuration, with four coaches forming one unit, and a minimum of 12 coaches comprising one train. Initially, 12-coach sets will be introduced, with a potential expansion to 16-coach versions based on demand.