'Excellent progress': Ashwini Vaishnaw inspects India's first bullet train manufacturing at BEML

NEW DELHI: Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday inspected the manufacturing of India’s first bullet train at BEML’s facility in Bengaluru and expressed satisfaction with the progress, highlighting the emphasis on quality and international standards.Vaishnaw said all major components were being manufactured, integrated and tested, and that the work was progressing well.“Today, I conducted a thorough inspection of the bullet train currently being manufactured at BEML. The progress is excellent. All major components of the bullet train are being produced, integrated, and tested; the entire process is advancing very well, with a special emphasis on quality,” he said.“Given that a vacuum is created around the train at such high speeds, managing and sustaining atmospheric pressure is critical-testing is conducted at loads of 1500 kilonewtons. Great attention has been paid to every aspect, and each component has been tested according to international standards,” he added.Earlier in the day, Vaishnaw flagged off the Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper train, which connects Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal in Bengaluru with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai.BJP MP Tejasvi Surya described the service as a valuable gift from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Karnataka. He said demand for the train was high, with tickets booked for the next three weeks.Surya also said Vaishnaw had agreed to positively consider a proposal for a high-speed rail corridor connecting Bengaluru and Pune via Hubballi.“On this important day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a valuable gift to the people of the state: the Vande Bharat Sleeper Train Service connecting Mumbai and Bengaluru. The demand is so high that the train is already fully booked for the next three full weeks,” he told ANI.“That is the kind of demand that exists between the two cities. The Railway Minister has also agreed to consider positively the other most important demand that all of us have put forward: to connect Bengaluru to Pune via Hubballi through a high-speed rail corridor, through a bullet train corridor,” he added.