Vande Bharat dashing through snow: Rail minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shares stunning video of winter-ready train
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared a breathtaking video of the Vande Bharat Express moving through snow in Kashmir. The 8-coach train has been specially modified with winter-ready features to ensure smooth operation even in sub-zero temperatures.The Vande Bharat Express covers the Udhampur–Srinagar route in just over three hours, making a daily round trip. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 272-kilometre Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) back in June last year. With this, Kashmir achieves all-weather rail connectivity with the rest of India.
Winter ready features
The train comes with advanced heating systems designed to prevent freezing of water tanks and bio-toilet tanks. Silicon heating pads are fitted with overheat protection sensors, while heated plumbing pipelines, self-regulating heating cables, and heaters in lavatories maintain warm air for vacuum systems and toilets. An auto-draining system ensures that plumbing lines do not freeze when the train is idle. Driver safety and comfort have also been given a front seat. The loco pilot’s front lookout glass includes heating elements for defrosting, and anti-spall layers protect against impacts in extreme weather. The chair car features upgraded air dryer system heating to maintain efficient braking even in freezing conditions. Passenger comfort is enhanced with warm air ducts extending to lavatories, while a 5 kVA transformer in the underframes powers heating systems for critical components. The USBRL, India’s Rs 43,780-crore engineering feat, spans 272 kilometres through the Himalayas with 36 tunnels over 119 kilometres and 943 bridges connecting valleys, ridges, and mountain passes. The Chenab bridge is the world’s highest railway arch bridge, while the Anji Khad bridge is the country’s first cable-stayed railway bridge. The Vande Bharat Express for Kashmir is built to function efficiently even at temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius, with heated windscreens, thermally insulated lavatories, and sophisticated heating mechanisms ensuring passenger comfort and reliable year-round service.
