The Indian Railways is planning to introduce a new and faster Rajdhani Express on the Mumbai-Delhi route within a month. This would be the third Rajdhani train connecting the two cities.
The train might be launched by Diwali and would cover the distance between Bandra and Nizamuddin in just 13 hours. Currently, there are two Rajdhani Express trains -the August Kranti Rajdhani and the Mumbai Central New Delhi Rajdhani, which run between Delhi to Mumbai.
Both of them take more than 15 hours to cover the distance between Mumbai and the Delhi.
While the August Kranti Rajdhani takes around 17 hours to reach New Delhi, the Mumbai Central-New Delhi takes around 15 hours at an average speed of 89 kmph, to travel 1386 km.
“The trial run [for the new train] will start in a couple of days. We are using the existing 24-coach Mumbai Rajdhani with two engines to see if we can make the journey shorter by a few hours. We are using Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches,” a senior railways official told PTI.
Alternatively, sources said, the railways could introduce the new Rajdhani with 14 coaches and one engine to increase speed, and then determine which of the two is the better option.
The Mumbai Rajdhani has a sanctioned speed of 130 kmph. However, numerous curves and speed restrictions on the route bring the average speed down to about 89 kmph. The railways is hoping to increase this to 90-95 kmph, sources said.
LHB coaches are of a superior design that reduces the chances of derailment and mitigates the possibility of grievous injury or death in case of accidents. These coaches have anti-climbing features and superior braking. Sources said LHB coaches, designed to run at a top speed of over 150 kmph, will be able to make the 13-hour cut-off if the current six halts were to be brought down to three or two.
While an effort is on to increase average speed, the maximum speed of the new Rajdhani is likely to be maintained at 130 kmph. The Delhi-Mumbai line is important for the railways as the route, once the reserve of business travellers, has been losing passengers to airlines. This route is also one of the two to be developed into special corridors with semi-high speed services.
(With inputs from PTI)
