Indian Railways bullet train to travel at 320 kmph, have plush seats, coffee makers, and more

The first Indian Railways bullet train running between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will boast of facilities like a business class coach, separate toilets and washrooms for the specially-abled, fast food vendors on-board along with rotating seats. Initially, the 35 bullet trains with 10 coaches, running between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, will have one business class coach and nine standard coaches each. Citing senior officials of the National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL), the nodal agency implementing the project, Hindustan Times report said that the bullet trains will have operationally advanced technologies as compared to existing Indian trains, and a variety of passenger amenities. The bullet train, which will have 70 services between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, will reportedly ferry 40,000 passengers by 2023. The NHSRCL will conduct a study on the passenger demand to decide introduction of monthly passes and changing station halts.
 
According to the report, the business class coach will have leg rests, luggage space and staff rooms including refrigerators, boiling water, tea maker, coffee maker and hand towel warmers. Separate toilets and washrooms for women, men and specially-abled passengers, will be another feature on the train, which reportedly will be a multi-purpose coach for feeding mothers or sick persons. The coaches will also have folding bed, baggage rack and mirrors. Among other features of the bullet train include automatic rotation facility, which will help passengers enjoy the view in the direction in which the train is moving, besides the train will have on-board fast food sellers, said the report. “We are finalising the designs of the BKC station and the underground water tunnel. We expect to start the construction work by the year-end,” said Achal Khare, managing director of NHSRCL told HT.
 
For passengers’ safety, a special general inspection train will reportedly ply on the tracks once in 10 days to check the tracks, and a block between 12.00am and 6.00am will be operated every day so that the trains will run only after its safety confirmation nod. It may be noted that Surat will have a depot for assembling the parts of the train and testing it on the tracks. Meanwhile, land acquisition is still a matter of concern for NHSRCL.
 
According to the report, the lands from 108 villages including 39 in Thane, 73 in Palghar and 5 in Mumbai will be acquired, affecting more than 10,000 local people. In this context, NHSRCL is reportedly facing a stiff resistance from villagers in Palghar. Earlier on Sunday, Achal Khare, Managing Director of the NHSRCL, said the proposed bullet train service would be available every 20 minutes from the originating station at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai. A report in Indian Express said that three train services will run during peak hours, while two train services would operate during non-peak hours.
 
These Indian Railways bullet trains will run at a speed of 320 kmph and is expected to travel from Mumbai to Ahmedabad within 2 hours. At present, it takes seven hours by train and an hour by flight.
 
Other senior railway officials, however, said that the segment continues to remain in high demand with the Western Railway operating at least 20 trains daily. Every day as many as 10 flights are planned between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to cater to the passenger demand, the report said.

Watch Zee Business video on bullet train

 
It may be noted that 12 stations on the bullet train route will include BKC, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Baroda, Anand, Sabarmati and Ahmedabad. The NHSRCL will reportedly run both fast trains that would halt at Mumbai, Surat, Baroda and Ahmedabad, and slow trains halting at all 12 stations.