PM Narendra Modi to Flag Off Train 18, India’s First Engineless Train, From Varanasi on Dec 29

This is India's first engineless train as well.

New Delhi: Country’s fastest train to have been manufactured by Indian Railways, Train 18, would be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 29, sources said. The train would most likely be flagged off from the PM’s constituency, Varanasi, reported PTI. (Also read: Ten Things to Know About Train 18)

It is the country’s first engineless train that will replace Shatabdi trains and will run between Delhi and Varanasi.

Manufactured by ICF Chennai at a cost of Rs 100 crore, Train 18 became India’s fastest train by hitting speeds of over 180 kmph during the trial-run on a section of the Delhi-Rajdhani route.

The 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 bio-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 with 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 was 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 the same day.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has reportedly asked ICF to build four more similar rakes in the current financial year.

Meanwhile, the Railways will now turn its focus on another project – Train 20 – the next generation aluminium-bodied sleeper class trains that will replace the Rajdhani Express trains on the network and is expected to be rolled out by 2020.