Now Indians need to do their bit
The preconceived notions about Indian Railways – stinking train, dirty compartments, unusable toilets – are challenged by Vande Bharat Express.
here are some preconceived notions about Indian Railways – the train stinks, the compartments are dirty, and the toilets are unusable. Vande Bharat Express challenges all of that.
Come August 2023, as many as 75 Vande Bharat Express trains of Indian Railways will connect various parts of the country. PM Narendra Modi made this announcement during his Independence Day Speech. There is good reason to believe that these new trains could lead the great Indian Railways makeover – which is looking at competing with budget airlines, becoming more profitable in some passenger segments, modernising travel experience and shifting the rail network towards higher speeds right up to bullet trains.
The important question to answer though is the routes these should run on, the pricing of the tickets, the contribution to the railways bottomline and whether the experience of the two operational routes so far presents an optimistic case for more investment.