Kerala's second Vande Bharat Express: Railways set up all new travel experience for passengers

Palakkad: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off the upgraded Vande Bharat Express, the second one allotted to Kerala, on Sunday morning, passengers will be experiencing an improvised and better travel experience.

The train that will wear the orange-white livery is offering passengers as many as 25 upgrades when compared to the first design of the Vande Bharat Express trains. The upgraded amenities mainly focus on safety and comfort, according to authorities.

The upgraded Vande Bharat rake is fitted with KAVACH, say authorities. KAVACH is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) electronic system meant to provide protection by preventing trains from passing red signals thereby avoiding any collision.

KAVACH automatically activates the train’s braking system if the driver fails to control the train as per speed restrictions. It is also experimentally proven that the safety system prevents collision between locomotives if both are equipped with functional KAVACH. According to authorities, KAVACH is one of the most efficient, but cheapest safest systems where ‘the probability of error is one in 10,000 years’.

Aerosol-based fire detection and suppression systems in electrical cabinets and lavatories, driver-guard communication with a voice recording facility and crash-hardened memory will all ensure better safety for the passengers.

The new Vande Bharat coaches will have emergency openable windows and fire extinguishers in each coach, emergency alarm push buttons and talk-back units, CCTVs and four disaster lights in each coach. The reclining ergonomic seats and comfortable seating with revolving seats in the executive class and mobile charging sockets for every seat are all set to offer a new level of experience to the passengers.

Four platform side cameras including rear view cameras will also be installed on the train for surveillance. The express train will also have a mini pantry with provision for hot cae, bottle cooler, deep freezer and hot water boiling.

As per the current information provided by railway authorities, though the train would be flagged off on Sunday, the regular service will begin only on Tuesday. The Express will leave from Kasaragod at 7 am and reach Thiruvananthapuram Central at 3.05 pm. The train will begin its return journey at 4.05 pm to reach Kasaragod at 11.55 pm.

The services will be operated six days a week and a day will be marked for maintenance and inspection, according to official sources. The Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram service will be excluded on Monday. Similarly, the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod service will not be operated on Tuesday so as to carry out the maintenance and inspection works.