Vande bharat is an important milestone in passenger rolling stock available with India.It has distributed power system which allows for faster acceleration on the track compared to other passenger trains like shatabdi etc.Higher acceleration ability transalates into higher average speed on the similar route which inturn results in reduction of travel time.Thus, Vande Bharat is a great solution to Indian conditions where the indigenously made train is able to provide greater speed and comfortable passenger experience.Also, one has to appreciate that Vande bharat has attempted to facelift the exterior and interior of passenger train system in India.On the exterior , it has got a beautiful nose, taking care of aerodynamics and a body which looks like a high speed train.Further, being a trainset , there is a continuity across its length which makes it more impressionable and welcoming.In the interiors also, there has been a flurry of modern amenities like usb charging points, display boards, automatic door closing system etc.Vande Bharat, thus, is a different product category well suited for Indian conditions especially given the curent track infrastructure.But what about the high speed future India is aiming for?

India is developing a high speed corridor in the west(Mumbai-Ahmedabad) and has announced an ambitious plan of constructing high speed network connecting major cities of south like chennai, bengaluru , pune and hyderabad.Thus, it is clearly in our mind to create a high speed network which is likely to co-exist with the existing network.But the major question is that whether our rolling stock is prepared to cruise on this high speed network.Ofcourse, indian railways is currently working on B-28 trains which are likely to cruise on these tracks.While everyone is confident that indigeneous development is the way forward but if the world is already having rolling stock which can be modified to suit indian conditions, it makes a lot of sense in looking at those technologies and giving them a chance in india.The top most in this regard is ‘variable gauge’ technology which allows trains to pass from one gauge to another without requiring an interchange point.This amazing technology can connect the existing Indian railway network with the high speed network providing access to cities beyond the high speed network in India.

Many european companies like CAF, Talgo, Alstom etc use this technology to smoothly transition from gauge network of one european country to another.Infact, in some countries like spain, this is actually used to transition from existing network to high speed network giving high ease of interoperability for operators and convenience for the passengers.Thus, India’s quest for high speed network must be definitely be accompanied by this kind of rolling stock feature so that we can get maximum return from creation of high speed network.The second important technology that Indian Railways must adopt is the ‘tilting train‘ technology.Many global players have been able to create technology where application of centrifugal force on the curves is balanced by natural tilt of the coach resulting into higher speed on the curves and superior passenger comfort.The ability of trains to tilt can make up for the ‘cant deficiency‘ of the track.This truly mechanical feature of global trains is inspiring and highly desirable in india.This will lead to better speed and higher passenger comfort on mixed use tracks available in india with minimal level of investment.

There are other two major improvements that Indian rolling stock requires to transition to quality high speed network.The first one is to develop aluminium based trains which provide better single body fit and better ability to handle air pressure changes that occur at high speed.The other one is having aircraft-like interiors.Aircraft interiors are made with FRPs and are singular in nature. They have minimalistic welding interventions and are more uniform.This results in smooth and fine interiors that are less prone to damage and have a greater life.The creation of such trains is definitely expensive but are worth the experience they provide and the longevity they have. India, however, is definitely prepared for such trains.The high air traffic growth indicates that good quality journey in a good quality vehicle at a high speed always gets paid off by the customers.Thus, India, should not delay its ambitions to develop good technology even if it requires some front loading of costs.

The reason why India has been deprived of such rolling stock is not only the lack of capital or infrastructural issues.It can also be attributed to lack of private train services in India.In any country , where private train services have been introduced,it has been invariably observed that high quality rolling stock is brought to that country by the new operators to attract the customers.This, in turn , has led to a wide variety of rolling stock availability in that country resulting in depth of rolling stock in the country’s railway system.The technologies ,which are superior, automatically start creating their space in the network.In countries like UK, Spain, Germany etc, one can find trains of 3 to 4 companies running on the same track creating a sense of track agnostic rolling stock development in the country.India should also start believing in creating track agnostic rolling stock. While it is never possible to completely separate the track and rolling stock but it is also a fact that two differently designed rolling stock can give the same operational and functional experience on the same track.

This track agnostic rolling stock is highly possible if India allows private train services to pick up through rolling stock leasing model.Leasing model will help in providing private operators an option to choose a train of their choice. Infact, there are certain trains available globally which can fit into indian ecosystem without much modification.The use of private train operators and finance companies can create a great ecosystem for the same.But since, private services are a sensitive issue in India and prone to miscommunication, India must not wait for this model.If this model can be brought in, it will be very progressive.However, if it is not possible then also procurement of such technologies through ‘Make in India’ model must be pursued .India must adopt global rolling stock technologies at a break neck speed so that higher product categories are created which can satisfy passenger demand as well as give a thurst to domestic rolling stock manufacturing base in India.