



Indian Railways (IR) on Sunday started the first trial run of a nine-coach semi-high-speed train, imported from Spain and manufactured by Madrid-based Talgo.

If successful, it would put India into a select club of nations with operational semi-high speed capacity of 160-200 km per hour.The train ran from 8:50 am between Bareilly and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, hauled by a 4,500 horse power engine.

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“The speed of the trial done on Sunday was 115 kmph. It will be increased to 200 kmph on the Mathura-Palwal section and more than 200 kmph during trials on the Delhi-Mumbai route,” a senior rail ministry official told Business Standard.The trial over the 90-km stretch between Bareilly and Moradabad will last for two weeks. On the first day, the train carried two executive class and four chair car coaches, one cafeteria, a power car and a tail-end coach with equipment.The test runs are planned initially with empty coaches, and later with sandbags on the passenger seats.

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The second leg of the test, being conducted by joint teams of railway engineers and Research Designs and Standards Organisation staff, will witness a run on the Mathura-Palwal section of North-Central Railway, for 40 days at 200 kmph.Finally, the run will be conducted on the Delhi-Mumbai route, for two weeks at a stretch.The trials, if successfull, will lead to introduction of a 'super luxury' Talgo train service between Delhi and Mumbai in a few months, reducing the travel time to less than 12 hours, from 18 hours at present.The nine-coach Talgo train was earlier shipped from Barcelona and arrived at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Navi Mumbai on April 21. From there, the train was brought to the Izzatnagar rail workshop near Bareilly, earlier this month.

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BABY STEPS

First trial to continue for two weeks between Bareilly and Moradabad under full capacity



Second trial will be done between Mathura and Palwal section up to 200 kmph for 40 days



Third trial will be done on the Delhi-Mumbai route at excess of 200 kmph for two weeks

A three-member team of experts from the Railway Board reached the workshop on Wednesday and were briefed by Talgo engineers on all aspects. Talgo trains are light-weight, fast and known for some design features that include articulated bogies — one bogey is shared by two coaches — and independent rotation of wheels that allow smooth negotiation of curves.Also, a low centre of gravity of the coaches imparts additional stability and safety. IR had last month started its fastest service, Gatimaan Express capable of 160 kmph on the Delhi-Agra stretch. Train services at 160-200 kmph are classified as semi-high speed.