New Delhi, Metro Rail News: Train 18, the fastest train from railways’ stable, will be flagged off by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi on December 29 likely from his constituency Varanasi.
The country’s first engineless train will replace Shatabdi trains and will run between Delhi and Varanasi, Train 18, manufactured by ICF Chennai at a cost of Rs 100 crore, recently became India’s fastest train by hitting speeds of over 180
Earlier, Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal also put out a tweet which had a video of visuals of the Train 18 running at full speed in Rajasthan:Â
Train 18, manufactured domestically under the 'Make in India' initiative, seen scorching the tracks at a phenomenal 180 kmph during speed trials in Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/jDjtykQyc7
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) December 6, 2018
The gleaming blue-nosed train comes fitted with amenities at par with the best in the world– from onboard WiFi to a GPS-based passenger information system, touch-free vacuum toilets, LED lighting, mobile charging points, and a climate control system that adjusts the temperature according to occupancy and weather.
The train will have two executive compartments which will have 52 seats each and trailer coaches will have 78 seats each. The executive class will have rotating seats to match the direction of the train.
According to the tentative plan, the train will start from New Delhi station at 6 am and is expected to reach Varanasi at 2 pm. For the return journey, the train will start at 2.30 pm from Varanasi and reach the national capital at 10.30 pm on the same day.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, impressed with the success of Train 18 during trials, has recently asked ICF to build four more similar rakes in the current financial year.Â