New Amrit Bharat Trains for India
According to a recent announcement, Indian Railways is all set to launch 50 new Amrit Bharat Trains by the end of 2024. Supporting the claim, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had earlier said that the trains are being developed to travel at 250 kmph. In the coming years, around 1000 Amrit Bharat trains will be added.
Amrit Bharat, which was launched by PM Modi on December 30, 2023 and started its commercial route from Jan 1, 2024, is an inexpensive, non-AC train service. The ticket for Amrit Bharat trains depends on the distance travelled, but so far, a ticket for a second-class trip has been noted to be ₹35 whereas the minimum fee for sleeper class is ₹46 for trips up to 15 kms and ₹65 for trips longer than 50 kms. Falling on the affordable side, the cost for a 1000 km travel is expected to be around ₹454.
The newly announced trains will also be providing the passengers with an AC coach option, and facilities better upgrades for facilities like designed seats, better luggage racks, mobile charging points, LED lights, CCTV have also been announced. The train comprises of 22 coaches where 8 are general second-class coaches, 12 second-class 3-tier sleeper coaches, and two guard compartments. Currently, there are two set Amrit Bharat routes – Darbhanga-Anand Vihar and Malda-Bengaluru. The train is produced by Integral Coach Factory in Chennai where each set costs around ₹0.65 billion.