Prime Minister Modi will flag off India’s fastest self-powered engine less train called Train18 on 29 December from Varanasi. According to reports, Train 18 will be faster than presently running super-fast trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Tejas express.
The train will run between Delhi and Varanasi and replace the 30-year old Shatabdi trains. As per the tentative schedule, the train will depart Delhi at 6 am and reach Varanasi at 2 pm. For the return journey, the train will depart Varanasi at 2.30 pm and reach New Delhi station at 10.30 pm.
4 years ago, we could not have imagined that we would see an Indian made engine-less train like Train 18 that would run at a speed of 180 km/h: PM @NarendraModi pic.twitter.com/enKcwiVref
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) December 20, 2018
The train in its initial tests at Kota-Sawai Madhopur section crossed the 180 kmph mark, although it has been designed to run at 160 KMPH. But, unfortunately, a very low percentage of tracks in India’s widespread railway network are designed to withstand such speed and they are being upgraded.
The train has been manufactured at Integral Coach Factory in Chennai and has 80% of its components manufactured in India. Railway ministry has already asked ICF to manufacture 6 more sets. ICF has also received demands of the train from abroad, although it has specifically designed for Indian tracks. ICF GM Sudhanshu Mani also stated that in the next 30 months, the train would be 100% indigenous, with no need for imported components.
Its prototype took an investment of around 100 crores, and 18 months to be made functional by the team at ICF.
The train will have 16 coaches, with 2 executive coaches which will have 52 seats and rest of the coaches have 78 seats each. The coaches will be equipped with Air-Conditioners and rotating seats which can be aligned in the direction of travel. It will also have automatic doors like metro trains, in addition to GPS, WiFi, and infotainment for passengers. The footstep in a coach’s doorway will slide outward when the train stops at a station enabling passengers to alight safely.
