Vande Bharat vs Shatabdi: Let’s get the debate on track

CHENNAI: Indian Railways is going at a fast pace to manufacture and induct Vande Bharat train sets, with its ‘aircraftlike’ interiors and 180kmph speed, in the coming months. However, a series of tweets by a young civil engineer @shimul_23, as described in his online profile, that compares Vande Bharat with Shatabdi Express, has sparked a debate on which of the two trains is better. So much so that he told TOI his handle has been reported or locked because ofhis tweets on Vande Bharat.

The engineer points out that though the government appears to be pumping money into the manufacture of Vande Bharat trains, the premium service of Shatabdi express trains with its Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) Anubhuti coaches can achieve most of what the former promises, such as speed and amenities, at almost half the cost. The Vande Bharat trainset costs Rs 100 crore while a locomotive-pulled Shatabdi train costs Rs 55 core.