Semi-high speed Train 18 all set to be launched on October 29

Train 18 will eventually replace Shatabdi Express trains on the Indian Railways network.

New Delhi: Indian Railways is all set to roll out its much awaited indigenously built semi-high speed train for inter-city travel Codenamed Train 18 on October 29.

"We are planning to unveil the train on Oct 29," ICF General Manager S.Mani told news agency IANS. He said the train will undergo test runs in two/three sectors for about two months and on satisfactory results, would be inducted into passenger service.

Train 18 (depicting the year it is being manufactured), this self-propelled train would run at a speed of 160 kmph. It will eventually replace Shatabdi Express trains on the Indian Railways network.

Train 18, a 100 perent 'Make in India' project will be manufactured at ICF (Integral Coach Factory) in Chennai. The Rs 100 crore engineless Train 18 will have a stainless steel car body with LHB as the base design.

The fully air-conditioned train will have 16 chair-car type coaches out of which two will be executive chair cars and 14 non-executive chair cars. The executive chair can seat 56 passengers, while the non executive chairs will be able to accommodate 78 passengers.

The train with a Swanky interior and world-class facility boasts a host of passenger friendly amenities which include inter-connected fully sealed gangways, automatic doors with retractable footsteps, onboard Wi-Fi and infotainment, GPS-based passenger information system, modular toilets with bio-vacuum systems, halogen free rubber-on-rubber flooring, rotational seats which can be aligned in the direction of travel (available only in the executive class), roller blinds and diffused LED lighting, and disabled-friendly toilets.