With the Vande Bharat trains already being a superhit among travellers, the Indian railways is looking to make sure that more people have access to the Vande Bharat trains and at a more affordable rate. That is why, the Indian Railways are launching non-AC Vande Bharat trains to make the trains accessible and cheaper compared to the AC Vande Bharat trains. These new non-AC Bharat trains are expected to be launched as soon as October.

The exterior and design of the non-AC trains will be different than that of the AC trains and these trains will also not have the aerodynamic features which the AC trains possess, railway officials said. “The speed of this train is likely to be restricted at 130 kmph compared to the AC trains, which run at 160 kmph. It might not be advisable to run trains with open windows at higher speeds.”

The First non-ac Vande Bharat train have 21 coaches:

The first non-AC Vande Bharat train would have 21 coaches and two locomotives of matching colour, the officials said. They added, “This train will have LHB coaches. A specially designed locomotive will be connected to the train at each end for push-pull operation to enable it to travel faster. The main upgrade would be that this train will have improved interiors, best-in-class passenger amenities, and improved couplers to join two coaches for jerk-free travel as provided in trains.”

The officials also said that the couplers used to join the coaches of a train will also be different than the normal LHB trains. “These coaches will also have a fire alarm system, emergency alarms, toilets as designed inside , and improved seats. Two such trains are planned to be rolled out by this year,” the officials said.

The non-AC Vande Bharat trains are being manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. In 2023, the ICF, Chennai is planning to manufacture 3,241 coaches in about 30 different variants, including new types of trains. They will also manufacture Vande Metro that will cater to intercity short-distance commutes and will have double leaf doors for easy boarding and deboarding of passengers. Meanwhile, a sleeper version of Vande Bharat is also being developed with improved interiors.     

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