Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw unveils body structure of Vande Bharat sleeper variant
Bengaluru, Mar 9: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Saturday unveiled the body structure of Vande Bharat's sleeper coaches at a Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) facility here.
BEML comes under the Ministry of Defence and manufactures products for various sectors such as defence, aerospace, mining, construction, rail and metro among others. It has also got orders to make 10 trainsets of (160 coaches) Vande Bharat Sleeper.
Vaishnaw said Vande Bharat train has three versions -- chair car, sleeper and metro. While the chair car version has already been launched and is very popular, the first carbody of Vande sleeper is ready.
"Now, its furnishing work will happen. Manufacturing carbody is the most difficult work. Today, we will discuss how to scale it up further," Vaishnaw told mediapersons.
He added, "We will test the first trainset for five to six months and only after that it will be launched. Since the sleeper train is based on the same technology on which the chair car is working, it will offer similar benefits such as jerk-free, noiseless, quick acceleration and deceleration etc."
The Railway Minister said special attention is being paid to passengers' comfort that in sleeper train.
"The foot area of the ladder to enter the train has been improved for passengers for easy entry. Toilets have new designs and air-conditioning has also better control. The seat cushion is better with new technology. Oxygen level will be maintained and 99.99 percent virus will be eliminated," he said.
According to him, this new age train has better safety features when compared to the mail/express trains running currently.
"In other developed countries, the manufacturing cost of one coach with similar amenities comes around Rs 10 crore. However, the one Vande Bharat Sleeper Coach cost comes around Rs 8-9 crore because a lot of work has been happening in-house with our own manpower and technology," Vaishnaw said.
BEML CMD Shri Shantanu Roy said, "We are delighted to be a part of creating this milestone that will facilitate comfort and world-class facilities while minimising travel time. Our production is operating at full capacity, and the entire manufacturing and assembly process is undertaken at BEML, emphasising our commitment to quality and precision by specialised team of engineers and staff."
According to a press statement from BEML, these sleeper trains set a new benchmark in passenger comfort and convenience, offering world-class facilities and best-in-class interiors.
"It marks a significant milestone as India embarks on the journey of introducing sleeper variants within the acclaimed Vande Bharat platform," it said.
BEML officials said that Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, placed an order with it in May 2023 for the design, manufacture, and commissioning of 10 rakes (16 car each) Vande Bharat sleeper version.
"These trains will undergo necessary modifications to seamlessly transition from chair car variants to sleeper versions, ensuring compliance with crashworthiness and fire safety requirements," the press statement said.
Furnishing of Vande Sleeper started! pic.twitter.com/itYaSQyNG2
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (मोदी का परिवार) (@AshwiniVaishnaw) March 9, 2024
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Representative of Iran's Supreme Leader in India calls current situation 'no war, no peace'
Bengaluru (PTI): Representative of Iran's Supreme Leader in India, Abdul Majeed Hakeem Ilahi on Saturday characterised the ongoing tensions between his country and the Israel-US alliance as a state of “no war, no peace”.
Calling for an immediate halt to the conflict, he said the global stability hinges on those who initiated the war.
He questioned why countries affected by the war and suffering from the energy crisis are not pressuring the US and Israel to stop the aggression.
Addressing a press conference here, Ilahi said Iran did not want the conflict, but was compelled to respond amid continued attacks, even as negotiations were expected to continue.
"Iran didn't want this war, but Iran was forced by the war and several times Iran tried to avoid this war... I don't know what is the condition of these people and these countries (US-Israel)... they want to impose on other countries what they want, and who gave them this authority?" he questioned.
Recalling the negotiations Iran held in Oman, he said talks later moved to Geneva and made progress before being disrupted by sudden attacks.
Ilahi claimed that airstrikes and missile attacks led to the deaths of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ministers, commanders and civilians.
"They killed a lot of civilians… They attacked a primary school, and they killed 175 innocent girls," he said, claiming over 4,000 deaths, more than 40,000 injuries, and widespread damage to houses, hospitals, universities and public infrastructure.
Despite these losses, he said Iran resisted calls for “unconditional surrender” and stood firm and defended itself.
"They wanted unconditional surrender. Which no one—no one can accept it. Iran said, 'Okay, we are ready to be sacrificed,' but we are not ready to submit ourselves," he added.
He argued that they (US-Israel) proposed the current ceasefire only after realising that they could not achieve any of their objectives after 40 days of conflict.
The envoy further claimed that the ceasefire is not an actual ceasefire, but a “no war, no peace” situation.
Explaining the current situation in Iran, he said conditions remain stable and people are going about their daily lives.
"They are working ....(leading) their ordinary life. They are working—they're going farming and they do everything....and they aren't scared of anything. And they are ready to defend themselves," he added.
Addressing the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, he said the situation was stable before February 28 and all countries benefited from it.
"(For) 10,000 years, the Strait of Hormuz was open...and Iran daily yearly spent a lot for providing security in the Strait of Hormuz... so no one even complained anything about the Strait of Hormuz. Everyone was free...and even our enemies their warship was passing through the Strait of Hormuz," he said.
However, he linked the current maritime instability to the actions of the US and Israel.
"So Iran cannot do anything. Those people who initiated, created and started this war, they have to stop it. And everything will go back to normal," he said.
Criticising the mentality of the "great powerful country", Ilahi said, "they think they have the right to do whatever they want. It should change."
He sought to know why the countries affected by the conflict are not exerting pressure on the US and the "Zionist" regime to halt the war.
"Why are they not asking them? This crisis and problem by which a lot of countries are affected was created by them. A lot of factories are closed and even working days in some countries reduced... A lot of restaurants are closed," he said.
Seeking fairness and justice, Ilahi said instead of asking Iran, all those nations should ask those who initiated this war to stop it, by telling them, "we are suffering."
To a query on international mediation, Ilahi, referring to the US, asked, "Is it acceptable and reasonable that one country orders all countries -- you should not deal with this country, You should not purchase from this country. You should not have business with this country. You should not buy from this country."
Ilahi also highlighted Iran's long-standing ties with India and said, "It is a great country and we respect India and Indians."
"We have 5,000 years relationship and friendship. We are connected to India by education, by philosophy, by culture, by civilisation and by the economy," he said.
According to him, the bilateral cooperation remains strong, citing diplomatic engagement.
"At the moment also, our relationship, collaboration, cooperation with India is very good," he said, adding Iran allowing Indian ships to pass through Strait of Hormuz reflects the ties.
"Iran allowed Indian ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Why? A lot of countries couldn't get this permission?... The relationship between Iran and India is very good," he added.
He expressed confidence that in future too, the ties between Iran and India will be strong.
