Orange Snake of India: Know the Special Features of This Vande Bharat Express

Recently, on 23 August, 2026, with a special feature, a successful trial test was conducted of Vande Bharat Express moving through the green Western Ghats of Karnataka.

This long train while moving on 55-km-long distance, its long orange body looked like a snake passing through the hills. That’s why it is popularly known as the “Orange Snake of India”.

But this name is not the official name of this Vande Bharat, it is given nickname only.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also shared the video on X on August 23, 2026. He wrote, “New age trains! Make more in India 🇮🇳.”

But this Vande Bharat has very special features, that have been prepared to safely run through the difficult Sakleshpur–Subrahmanya Road ghat section in Karnataka.

Let’s explore this article in detail and know more about this Vande Bharat Express.

Quick GK Facts

Why Is This Vande Bharat Special? 

This Vande Bharat Express has been on a successful trial run between Bengaluru–Mangaluru on the railway line, which passes through the Western Ghats, which is about 55 km long and has steep gradients, many tunnels, bridges, and sharp curves.

Due to all these difficult condition on the routes of this Vande Bharat, it needed a special feature with additional safety arrangements before it could be tested for trials.

A 20-coach Vande Bharat rake fitted with an Automatic Emergency Braking system was brought from ICF, Chennai, for the trials. 

For this reason, a specially modified Vande Bharat train was prepared for the trials.

Special Auto Emergency Brake System 

This Vande Bharat is special due to the Special Auto Emergency Brake System has been used.

AEB is important for this Vande Bharat because the route of this Vande Bharat has very diiifcult which has to pass from difficult ghat section.

The Sakleshpur–Subrahmanya Road section is about 55 km long.

It has around 57 tunnels, more than 200 bridges, 108 sharp curves, and a steep gradient of around 1 in 50.

As Vande Bharat is known for its speed, that’s why, at this 55-km distance, the speed of this train will be 30km/h, and if the train goes above the permitted speed, the system can automatically apply the brakes. This helps reduce the risk of excessive speed on steep downhill sections.

What Makes the Western Ghats Route Difficult? 

The Western Ghats are a beautiful landscape, but railway operation is very difficult in this area.

The railway line passes through:

Mountains to Tunnels to Sharp Curves to Bridges to Steep Slopes.

This Vande Bharat can also have been affected by the unexpected weather condition, heavy monsoon conditions of the region, and unexpected landslides in this region.

Therefore, it needs to carefully check the braking, speed, and train handling before regular service can begin.

Where was this Vande Bharat manufactured?

This special 20-coach Vande Bharat rake was manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. 

ICF is one of the major coach manufacturing units of Indian Railways. It has played an important role in manufacturing Vande Bharat trainsets.

The rake was later allotted to the South Western Railway zone for the trials in Karnataka.

Vande Bharat Features at a Glance