Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw unveils prototype version of Vande Bharat sleeper coach
Bengaluru (PTI): Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday unveiled the prototype version of the Vande Bharat sleeper coach here at the BEML's facility.
The coach will undergo rigorous trials and tests for the next ten days before rolling it out on the track for further testing, Vaishnaw told reporters.
The train is expected to be open for passenger operation in the next three months, he added.
"After Vande Bharat chair cars, we were working on Vande Bharat sleeper cars. Its manufacturing has now been completed. This train will go out for the trial and testing from the BEML facility today," Vaishnaw said.
Once the prototypes of Vande Bharat sleeper cars are properly tested, then the series of production will start.
"We will start the series of production after one-and-half years. Then it will be like practically every month two to three trains will start rolling out," he added.
Designing a new train is a very complex job, the minister said, adding that many new features have been introduced in the Vande Bharat sleeper cars.
"We are continuously improving the design of the Vande Bharat train. We are learning from the experience and are improving it further. The same philosophy will be adopted for Vande Bharat Metro," he added.
Vaishnaw said the Railways is working on four configurations -- Vande Bharat chair cars, Vande Bharat sleeper cars, Vande Bharat Metro cars and Amrit Bharat -- which will change the way people travel.
According to him, the Vande Bharat sleeper train with 16 coaches is meant for overnight journeys and will cover 800 km to 1,200 km. The oxygen level inside the train and virus protection, a lesson learnt from COVID-19 pandemic, are added features of the train.
"It will be a train meant for the middle class and the fares will be on par with Rajdhani Express," Vaishnaw said.
On the complaints about poor food quality being served in Vande Bharat, the minister said the Indian Railways serve 13 lakh meals a day and the complaints are less than 0.01. "But still we are very, very concerned about the complaints which come and we have taken very strong action against the caterers as well as the suppliers."
The minister laid the foundation stone for a new Vande Bharat manufacturing facility on the Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) premises.
Vaishnaw also laid the foundation stone for a new Hangar facility spanning 9.2 acres near BEML’s Bengaluru complex.
"This facility is dedicated to the export of standard and broad-gauge rolling stock, further expanding BEML's global reach," BEML said in a statement.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
