Indian Railways has been working hard in the last few months alone to make train travel more interesting, affordable and convenient for travellers across the country. The future plans laid out by the railway governing body just confirms that.
What’s the buzz?
According to media reports, Indian Railways has introduced Train 18 on Monday, which is believed to be the fastest train of all. In a test run conducted on Sunday, the train has reportedly crossed the top speed of 180 kmph.
While the above mentioned train is expected to start its operations from December 25 this year, there are a lot more in the pipeline, including the launch of comfortable business class seats and a lot more.
What should you know?
According to a senior official of the Indian Railways, a good day to launch Train 18 is December 25 since it is the birthday of Late Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, and hence it would be a tribute to him to start the operations of the fastest train of the country on the same day. Train 18 will reportedly operate on the New Delhi-Varanasi route.
It’s just not the speed that makes the Train 18 so special. Some of the biggest highlights of this state-of-the-art train would be its interesting features including automatic doors with retractable footsteps, onboard Wi-Fi and infotainment, GPS-based passenger information system, modular toilets with bio-vacuum systems, halogen free rubber-on-rubber flooring, rotational seats which can be aligned in the direction of travel, roller blinds, diffused LED lighting, and disabled-friendly toilets.
Apart from Train 18, Indian Railways is also planning to power its railway coaches using solar power as a move to make things more eco-friendly. Indian Railways is planning to do this by retrofitting the trains with flexible solar panels. The solar energy generated through these solar panels will be essential in in operating fans, light, and mobile charging slots on the coaches.
Indian Railways has recently introduced special business class seats in its newly-launched Tejas Express. If successful, the railway governing body plans to introduce these aircraft-like seats in some of its other premium trains as well.
What’s our take?
Indian Railways has been doing a fine job when it comes to making train journeys comfortable and interesting. Everything said and done, if Indian Railways continues this streak, there might come a day when we might feel like letting go of flights and choosing to go on journeys just for the sake of making travelling more interesting.
