Indian Railways on Thursday carried out the trial run of the country’s fastest passenger train between Delhi and Agra. It completed the 200-km journey in 90 minutes, touching the maximum speed of 160 kmph. The introduction of high-speed links and bullet trains was one of the key poll campaign promises of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The commercial operation is expected to commence in the next few months.
The trial run of this train comes ahead of another historic move the national transporter is set to make on Friday by connecting Katra, Vaishno Devi to the rest of the country.
Significantly, both these developments precede the Rail Budget that will be presented on July 8. In the Budget, Railway Minister DV Sadananda Gowda is expected to roll out extensive plans to overhaul the loss-making railway network.
Thursday’s top speed of 160 kmph is 10 kmph more than what was achieved on the same route during the tenure of the then Railway Minister lalu Prasad in UPA-I. Regular services of this Delhi-Agra fast train will be available for the general public from November, reducing the travel time to the city of the Taj Mahal by 30 minutes.
“The maximum speed of the train is 160 kmph. There are ten coaches altogether and we did a trial run today. The speed of the train is more than the Shatabdi that runs from New Delhi to Agra. It will start running from November,” said Divisional Regional Manager (DRM) Delhi Division Anurag Sachan.
For the last several years, the Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi was the fastest train in the country touching a top speed of 150 kmph and covering the distance between Delhi and Agra in 120 minutes. A road journey from Delhi to Agra via the Yamuna Expressway also takes about two hours.
The ten coach ‘semi high-speed train’ left New Delhi Railway Station at 11.15 am and reached Agra in 99 minutes. However, from the Nizamuddin Railway Station, where it will actually originate during commercial operations, the train took 90 minutes to reach its destination, Anurag Sachan said. After the Delhi-Agra service, Railways are expected to run similar trains on the Delhi-Kanpur and Delhi-Chandigarh sections.
There were about 16 speed restriction zones and curves on the Delhi-Agra route which had been upgraded to improve the speed. The national transporter is using its own resources to make operational the semi-high speed train, the first of its kind in the Indian Railways.
“It is estimated that it would cost Rs 15 crore to make the track ready for the semi-high speed train,” said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the project. A 27 km stretch along the track between Delhi and Agra will be fenced to prevent obstructions and ensure speed.
Meanwhile, after a long wait, the 25-km-long Udhampur-Katra line will be commissioned on Friday at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Station by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of Gowda.
Built at a cost of Rs 1,132 crore, the train will traverse through seven tunnels and over 30 small and large bridges with a small station - Chakrakhwal - between Udhampur and Katra. Thereafter, the train will be able to reach Katra directly as the 53-km Jammu-Udhampur rail line is already operational and now the Udhampur-Katra line, which is a part of the Kashmir rail link project, is being commissioned.
Indian Railways are considering extending the Jammu Mail and Sampark Kranti Express up to Katra, besides introducing new trains, including the Katra-Kalka Express, New Delhi-Katra AC express. There is also the possibility of launching a new train between Varanasi and Katra, said the official, adding the purpose is to connect two holy places by train. According to the official, there are demands from several zones for train services to Katra.
A set of local trains from Jammu to Katra and Pathankot to Katra is also likely to be introduced to cater to the rush of Vaishno Devi pilgrims. An estimated ten million devotees visit the shrine every year.