Engine-less Train 18 sets new record of highest speed ever at 180 kmph
Train 18 successfully clocked 180 kmph speed in both its trials - in the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani route as well as in Kota.
India’s first ever engine-less train is back in the news, for clocking a new high speed among all existing trains by Indian Railways. With a speed of 180 kmph, Train 18 has officially created a record.
The speed was clocked on the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani route. However, the train will only run at a speed of 160 kmph in its future operations. According to Research Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) officials, new trains are tested at a 10 percent higher speed than its actual operational speed.
In a conversation with the Financial Express, Sudhanshu Mani, GM of ICF said,
“Train 18 clocked 180 kmph speed during the trials today. While many trials are still left, this is a milestone for Train 18. The data is yet to be analysed, but I can confirm that it has achieved the 180 kmph speed today.”
Prior to clocking 180 kmph, the train had clocked 170 kmph during the test by RDSO. Till date, it was only Spain’s Talgo train to run at 180kmph on a track.
During the second trial conducted in Kota, Union Railway minister, Piyush Goyal tweeted,
Zor ka jhatka dheere se laga. The stability of water bottles at this speed is testament to the quality of workmanship and design of our engineers.
Currently, the Gatiman Express is the fastest to run at a speed of 160 kmph between Delhi and Jhansi. With Train 18, it will replace the current Shatabdi, reports Livemint.
According to S Mani, if the Indian Railways provide systems and signal permit, then Train 18 can clock a speed of 200 kmph.
Later he added,
Train 18 breached the 180 kmph speed limit in the Kota-Sawai Madhopur section. The major trials are now over, with just some more remaining. Based on the reports, fine tuning would be done if needed. As of now no major technical problem has cropped up.
Train 18 will be the country’s first and fastest semi-high-speed train with a price tag of Rs 100 crore. Made under the initiative of “Make In India”, ICF in Chennai has built the train with within a record time of 16 months against the two year manufacturing period.
We expect Train 18 to commence its commercial run from January 2019. Normally the trials take three months. But now it is happening faster than expected, S Mani said.
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