The new train can reach up to a speed of 130kmph beyond Virar and Kalyan stations.
The city’s hi-speed local trains that can achieve speeds of 130kmph are finally ready and will be in Mumbai in a month. A team of senior officials of the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation and the Maharashtra government would be visiting the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai on Wednesday to inspect the new wonder that is the product of six years of research.
The Rs60crore train is expected to break the 100kmph barrier and run at hi-speeds beyond Kalyan and Virar stations, on tracks that are used for hi-speed trains like the Rajdhani.
MRVC managing director Dr PC Sehgal confirmed that the “bogies” (the wheel-sets) were ready and that they would be going for the final inspection. “If everything goes well, the train should be in city by May,” he said. Sehgal, who is retiring at the end of this month, said the new train would be his gift to the city’s commuters.
Once the train is in the city, trials will be carried out and it shall be in service within a month. DNA had first carried a news report in November 2010 that the delivery of hi-speed trains had been delayed due to problems. In fact, five such hi-speed trains are expected.
“Within the city the there are limitations that don’t permit high speeds, but it is possible outside city limits. The tracks too need to be equipped to cater to such speeds,” a senior MRVC official said.
The train was expected to arrive earlier but one of its crucial components went missing at the last moment, delaying the delivery. The bogies frames and technology has been bought from Siemens, Austria.
“They will have bolsterless suspensions, which will give the commuters a jerk-free journey,” Sehgal added.
The new train is being procured under the Rs4,500 crore World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). MRVC is co-ordinating the project. While the train will look similar to the other trains, it will be the train’s high-speed bogie (wheel sets) that will make all the difference.
“Once the new train arrives, it will be subjected to heavy trials and oscillation tests. We will be loading them with sacks of sand completely to match the crowding weight and take trials as they would a fully-crowded train run,” a senior official said.
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