Vande Bharat: A Railway Story
India has been connected by railways from way back in 1836 when the Indian Railways was established. Since time immemorial, people across India have been able to travel from one place to another by trains. This has been enabled by the vast expanse of the railway network that has been established across India. The combination of economy travel coupled with time reduction in reaching a destination has ensured that railways has rarely ever seen a dip in the seat occupancy. In fact, even today, there are waiting lists for trains across India despite the wide distribution of travel across air as well. On top of that, the constant improvement in the trains has allowed people to experience some of the best travel in India. Back in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced another major intervention which would make us come closer to the highly advanced train network in Europe or Japan. The Vande Bharat express was announced which was intended to reduce the travel time between destinations owing to its superior technology and undetachable engines.
As of August 2022, Vande Bharat express runs across 2 routes in India and recently touched a top speed north of 180km/hr. This is much more than the existing fastest train in India (Gatiman Express) which runs around 150–160km/hr. This is bound to bring good news to the passengers as it reduces their travel time and also allows them to experience some form of luxury in these new trains. While this looks like an exciting proposition, the absence of such trains across routes in India can make one question on its viability. Well, the government has an answer to it as they plan to expand the Vande Bharat express to over 75+ routes to enhance its reach across India. Every time a new train comes, question marks are raised on its adoption by the passengers in front of other established trains. There are some things which will truly work in favor of Vande Bharat while some could act as a roadblock.
1. Newer Coaches and Faster time to destination (For) — The introduction of highly technologically advanced coaches along with an ability to reach a destination 3–4 hours faster than the usual train can work in its favor to pick up adoption among passengers. While there have been mixed reviews for the 2 existing routes, expansion into untapped areas can be a win-win for Vande Bharat Express.
2. Price+Time for Air Travel < Vande Bharat Express (Against) — Owing to it highly advanced technology, the tickets for Vande Bharat express come at a slightly higher price. In that process, they become comparable to air tickets. On top of that, the time taken by flights is significantly lower than that of the fast Vande Bharat express. In addition, introduction of new airlines like Akasa Air will act as a roadblock in its expansion to untapped areas as well where the mix of price and time for air travel can significantly outweigh the advantages offered by Vande Bharat Express.
3. Trains are the lifeline of Indian population (For) — Despite the surge in air travel, over 70% of the Indian population still travels by train. Thus, any new train with faster connectivity and accessibility has the potential to be an instant hit amongst majority of the population in India. The introduction of newer routes will only increase the adoption amongst the passengers. The only watch out is to balance the ticket prices to ensure that passengers don’t have double thoughts of travelling by Vande Bharat express as opposed to taking a flight home.
4. Consistent run at 180 km/hr is a question (Against) — While such high-speed trains are always good news for India, there is a strong need for the railway tracks to be able to support the speeds on a consistent basis to avoid any future fatalities. On top of that, Indian railway network is largely unguarded from the cattle, human traffic as well. Such high speeds increase the vulnerability of not being able to stop in emergency situations. There is high potential of interrupted runs happening across routes owing cattle and human traffic along with the waiting times that are often experienced by trains when entering railway stations, especially at critical junctions.
There can be multiple pros and cons associated with Vande Bharat express, but the crux lies in how it serves the passengers needs in terms of accessibility, comfort, price, and duration of travel. On top of that, safety considerations are something which have to be critically considered in its expansion with the advent of such high-speed trains. India, without a doubt, is on the track of becoming a high-speed railway network, but the government needs to tread carefully as it tries to achieve its ambitious plan of expanding the train to over 75 routes.
