Semi-high speed train touches 160 kmph in trial run

Delhi-Agra Semi High-speed Train flagged off for second trial run

Semi-high speed train touches 160 kmph in trial run

New Delhi: The Indian Railways on Thursday conducted a second trial run of a semi-high speed train between New Delhi and Agra.

“The maximum speed of the train is 160 km/h and comprises of ten coaches altogether,” Divisional Railway Manager of Delhi Division, Anurag Sachaan, had informed during the first trial held in July.

“The speed of the train is more than the Shatabdi that runs from New Delhi to Agra,” he has said.

The semi-high speed train, which is expected to start in November, would reduce the travel time between Delhi and Agra by about 90 minutes.

A similar train for New Delhi to Chandigarh and New Delhi to Kanpur will also be put into effect later.

Bullet train services may be some time away in India, but the Railways are determined to speed up a few trains on select routes by 2014. In its second trial run, a 10-coach semi-high-speed train ran at 160 kmph between New Delhi and Agra on Thursday, reducing the running time by 90 minutes, a Railway official said.

Railways have spent a huge amount on removing speed restrictions on 16 stretches and curves along this route. India’s fastest train, the New Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi Express, takes this route.

Earlier this week, Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda said similar trials would be conducted on eight other routes by the year-end.

They include Chennai- Hyderabad, Nagpur-Secunderabad, Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Kanpur and Mumbai-Goa.

Railway officials said they might be in a position to start services on some of these routes by November. The Railways are working on a blueprint to upgrade the signalling system and strengthen and fence tracks to run semi-high-speed trains on long stretches.