Indian Railways: Second Varanasi-Delhi Vande Bharat Dons White-Blue Livery - Here’s Why

Indian Railways circulated brochures showcasing the Vande Bharat Express in a new Saffron-Grey paint scheme, but the actual train was white-blue during the recent flag-off.

Image for representation

Just a day before the second Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off by Prime Minister Modi on Varanasi-Delhi route, brochures of the train were circulated by Indian Railways. In these brochures, the train was showcased in the new Saffron-Grey paint scheme. However, during the flag-off a white-blue train was seen in service. As of now, Northern Railway has planned to stick to the white-blue colour scheme. The department revealed that soon these will be converted to Saffron-Grey colours, as they are in manufacturing at ICF.

"We have plans to convert the present white-blue Vande Bharat into saffron-grey colour in the future because they are in the process of manufacturing at coach factories," a senior Northern Railway official told PTI.

"Keeping in mind the future scenario, we put a saffron-grey coloured Vande Bharat on our brochures," the official said.

Highlighting the train's on-board features, the Northern Railway in a statement said, "The train has superior passenger amenities such as on-board WiFi infotainment, GPS-based passenger information system, plush interiors, bio-vacuum toilets with touch-free conveniences." It also has "diffused LED lighting, charging points beneath every seat, individual touch-based reading lights and concealed roller blinds", it said.

It added that the train has a better heat ventilation and air-conditioning system with UV lamps for germ-free air supply. The intelligent air-conditioning system adjusts cooling according to climate conditions and occupancy, the statement said.

On Monday, the train's inaugural run from Varanasi to New Delhi started around 2.45 pm. However, its scheduled operations will be from 6 am on all days except Tuesday.

The train will reach New Delhi at 2.05 pm and depart for Varanasi at 3 pm. It will reach its destination at 11.05 pm.

The first Vande Bharat train between New Delhi and Varanasi starts from Delhi at 6 am and reaches its destination at 2 pm. It departs for New Delhi at 3 pm and reaches there at 11 pm. It runs six days a week except on Thursdays.

The Railways launched its first saffron-grey coloured Vande Bharat train on September 24 between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

It was one of the nine Vande Bharat trains that Modi flagged off on September 24 through videoconferencing.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a recent interaction with journalists had also dismissed the notion that there is any politics behind launching orange or saffron-coloured Vande Bharat trains, saying the choice of colours was informed by scientific thought.

"For human eyes, two colours are supposed to be the most visible - yellow and orange. In Europe, almost 80 per cent of trains have either orange or a combination of yellow and orange," Vaishnaw had said.

According to Vaishnaw, there are many other colours, such as silver, which are bright like yellow and orange, but "if we talk about it from the point of view of visibility to the human eye, these two colours are considered to be the best." Vaishnaw had asserted there is no politics behind it and it is a 100 per cent scientific thought.