Vande Bharat Express: A possible alternative to short distance flight like France? Abhijeet Sinha
Vande Bharat Express, E-trains are ready to transmute the transportation system. France banned short distance flights. Will India follow France's footsteps?
Vande Bharat Express, the semi high-speed electric train, is ready to reshape the transport sector. As it should be considered a better substitute for short distance flights. VBE, when compared to an average flight charge, is a lot cheaper and doesn’t even involve any hassle of coming hours early before the departure. And these are just a few perks of travelling through VBE. Although, cleanliness was not the first thing which came to mind while thinking Indian railways, over the last few years this has changed for the better too. From clean stations to bio toilets, #swachhbharatmission has clearly had a tremendous success. It can be said that VBEs will be giving a fair challenge to the flights of common routes, especially for short distance travel.
If we speak on a global level, France has already banned short distance domestic flight after thorough examination. In France, flight which were adding less than 2.5 hours for their travel time were found unnecessary, that too when the cities are linked through cheaper and more carbon friendly trains. Planes being the gigantic machines are a significant contributor of ozone depletion. The country is not stopping only at commercial planes, but has eyes on discontinuing the use of private jets too. All this to make the environment greener and reducing the carbon footprint. France has taken a commendable initiative for a better and cleaner future; soon other countries are also expected to follow France’s footsteps. While the ban is yet to come to play, it is said to come into force as soon as possible.
Abhijeet Sinha, National Program Director, Ease of Doing Business, Project Director NHEV
“In a growing like economy like India, we may not take such heavy decisions like France. But our focus should be on making train journey pocket friendly and fit the needs in terms of speed, safety, and amenities. This will shift our traffic from planes to solar and renewable-focused trains to achieve net zero aims.”
Coming back to Vande Bharat Express, the E train is a promising alternative to not so lengthy flights. Packed with features and amenities, VBE is already changing the travel experience for the Indian population. The Vande Bharat Express is operated at a speed of 130 kmph for high-speed transportation. These rapid fast machines eliminate the disadvantage of slow trains in Indian railways we have seen in the past.
We can expect the VBE to have a larger network in near future and public will consider it as a better option since the majority of population is middle class and cannot afford flights.
If we speak on a global level, France has already banned short distance domestic flight after thorough examination. In France, flight which were adding less than 2.5 hours for their travel time were found unnecessary, that too when the cities are linked through cheaper and more carbon friendly trains. Planes being the gigantic machines are a significant contributor of ozone depletion. The country is not stopping only at commercial planes, but has eyes on discontinuing the use of private jets too. All this to make the environment greener and reducing the carbon footprint. France has taken a commendable initiative for a better and cleaner future; soon other countries are also expected to follow France’s footsteps. While the ban is yet to come to play, it is said to come into force as soon as possible.
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