Train 18 is set to run between Delhi and Varanasi at a maximum speed of 160 kmph. (Express photo) Train 18 is set to run between Delhi and Varanasi at a maximum speed of 160 kmph. (Express photo)

Train 18, built by Indian engineers in 18 months, has been rechristened as Vande Bharat Express, as a nod to its ‘Make in India’ status, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to flag off the train that is scheduled to run between Delhi and Varanasi at a maximum speed of 160kmph.

The 16-coach train, built at a cost of Rs 97 crore by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, is regarded as a successor to the 30-year-old Shatabdi Express. It’s also the first locomotive-less train in the country.

“Train 18 will now be known as Vande Bharat Express. It is a train built completely in India. It is an example that it is possible to make world-class trains under Make in India,” Goyal said. The fully air-conditioned train will stop at Kanpur and Allahabad and will have two executive chair cars.

“It is completely made in India and various names were suggested by the general public but we have decided to name it Vande Bharat Express — a gift to the pepole on the occasion of Republic Day. Will request the Prime Minister to flag it off,” he said.

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