India’s semi-high speed train Vande Bharat gets new look, inspired by Tricolour

New Delhi: The Indian Railway is all set to launch the latest version of the country’s first indigenously built Vande Bharat soon. The semi-high-speed train rakes have been given a new look with a combination of orange, grey,and white in front instead of the existing blue and white colour.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishanv on Saturday visited the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Tamil Nadu and inspected the manufacturing of Vande Bharat trains at the facility here.

Accompanied by senior officials of the ICF, the Railway Minister took stock of the production of the latest high-speed trains and went around the sprawling campus.

“25 improvements have been done in Vande Bharat. Whatever feedback we are receiving from the field unit we are including that in the improvement,” said Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

“This is a concept of Make In India, (which means) designed in India, by our own engineers, and technicians. So whatever feedback we are receiving from the field units, regarding ACs, toilets, etc., during the operation of Vande Bharat, all those improvements are being used for making changes in the design,” Vaishnaw said in a press briefing.

“A new safety feature, ‘anti climbers’, or anti-climbing devices, on which we are working, were also reviewed today. These will be standard features in all the Vande Bharat and other trains,” he added.

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav visited the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai where Vande Bharat trains are manufactured. The new colour of the Vande Bharat train can also be seen in the video. pic.twitter.com/ToW3s0iZbU

— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2023

However, neither Ashwini Vaishnaw nor the Indian Railway has confirmed this reason for the new paint scheme. The semi-high-speed train already runs on 25 routes across India, while the 26th and 27th rakes are ready, wearing the usual colour scheme. Also, the Railway Minister said that this Saffron colour is inspired by the Tricolour.” Which means this train set is readied to be inaugurated on August 15, for Independence Day.

Railway officials told ANI that a total of 25 rakes of the Vande Bharat Express are operational on their designated routes, and two rakes are reserved. “While the colour of this 28th rake is being changed on a trial basis,” they said.