How Vande Bharat Express marked a tech leap for railways. Next stop: Bullet trains

In March 1969, Indian Railways flagged off its first Rajdhani Express train. In many ways the launch of Rajdhani Express trains heralded a new era for the national transporter - a fully air-conditioned train that technically broke the ‘speed barrier’ for Indian Railways.Almost two decades after that came the Shatabdi Express trains - a comfortable, day time travel experience that changed inter-city travel experience, taking it to a new level.Fifty years after the first Rajdhani Express was launched, and over 30 years after the Shatabdi, came the Vande Bharat Express - a technological leap that has changed modern day travel on Indian Railways.As Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Senior Director and Global Head-Consulting, Crisil Intelligence says, Indian Railways’ passenger journey can be seen as a progression through three important generations of trains.“Rajdhani represented a fundamental shift towards faster, long-distance inter-city travel with a focus on connecting the national capital with major cities.