Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off two Vande Bharat trains on February 10 which will ply between Mumbai and Sainagar Shirdi, as well as Mumbai and Solapur.
The Mumbai-Shirdi train connects the commercial capital to pilgrimage centres in Maharashtra like Nashik, Trimbakeshwar and Shirdi, whereas the Mumbai-Solapur train will offer faster connectivity to Siddheshwar, Akkalkot, Tuljapur, Pandharpur and Alandi.
With a design speed of nearly 160 kilometres and a running speed between 80 to 100 kms, the Mumbai-Shirdi Vande Bharat Express Train will cover a distance of 335 kms in five and a half hours. Currently, in other trains of the Indian Railways, it takes anywhere between 6.5 hours to ten hours to reach Shirdi.
“It will also traverse steep ghats in Kasara of 1 in 37 gradient without a banker engine,” said Naresh Lalwani, general manager, Central Railway. Vande Bharat trains have powerful motors embedded under every alternate coach which do not require them to attach an engine for additional push while plying on steep ghats.
In other trains plying on the steep ghats, up to two additional engines are attached in the hilly area to traverse the climb.
Similarly, on the Mumbai-Solapur route, the train will traverse the 1 in 37 gradient ghat section without a banker engine in Khandala-Lonavala stretch. “The existing super-fast train takes nearly 8 hours whereas Vande Bharat will take 6.5 hours saving 1.5 hours of travel time,” said a statement released by the Indian Railways.
The train that has a seating capacity of 1,128 persons has superior passenger amenities such as on-board wi-fi, GPS-based passenger info system, seats that rotate 360 degrees in executive class, bio-vacuum toilets and diffused touch-based LED lighting. The trains also have intelligent AC system that adjusts cooling according to climate conditions and occupancy.
“The trains also have better flood proofing for under-slung electrical equipment that will withstand floods up to a height of 650 mm,” the statement said.
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