Courtesy – bianoti.com Representative pic
When the Modi regime proposed high speed bullet trains for the Indian railway system, debates were kickstarted over whether it is actually possible in India. In first signs of that dream fructifying, the Indian railways have rolled out the new Train 18. The buzz in town is that these trains will replace the Shatabdi Express dubbed as the fastest of the lot.
Notably Shatabdi started in 1988 runs on over 20 routes connecting metros with major cities.
Seen as a big boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India campaign, the train was flagged off by Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. Train 18, has the distinction of being India’s first engine-less train. Reportedly the semi-high speed 16-coach train will bring down travel time by 15 per cent.
Train 18 is a fine blend of state of the art features. It runs at a maximum speed of 160 kmph. Two of its 16 coaches are executive-class. Each coach of Train 18 costs around Rs 6 crore, which is 40 per cent less than the cost of such trains globally.
Developed in 18 months, the full AC train is designed in such a way that passengers can have a look at the driver’s cabin.
A self-propelled train with CCTV cameras, it has two executive compartments at the centre with 52 seats each, while trailer coaches have 78 seats each.
Fitted with diffused lighting, automatic doors and footsteps apart from GPS-based Passenger Information System, experts believe Train 18 priced at Rs 100 per rake will bring the Indian railways at par with international standards.
Pic credits – Abhishek Jog ( Junglekey.in )
Over 80 per cent of Train 18 components have been manufactured in India.
“Within 2018-19 production year, another unit of the train would be manufactured and four more units would be manufactured by end of 2019-20 production year,” Ashwani Lohani is quoted as saying by the media.
The train was rolled out after Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), gave its nod. It is propelled using electric traction, much like metro and local trains. IFC will manufacture six trains in total, two of which will house sleeper coaches, and the project is expected to be completed by 2020.
Reports suggest that all zonal railway general managers have been asked to increase speed of long-distance passenger trains by 5 kmph every year, thus reaching the target of a 25kmph increase in speed by 2022.
As a next step in this project will be the advanced Train 20, an aluminium-bodied sleeper class train, that will replace the Rajdhani Express trains by 2020.
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