Speed to be new mantra for trains starting from city

Speed to be new mantra for trains starting from city
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Trains from Bangalore will soon chug faster, with the Railways planning to increase their speed to 110 kmph. At present, the maximum permitted speed is 100 kmph, at which the Shatabdi Express runs.

Trial runs at the higher speed have already been conducted on the Bangalore-Jolarpet and Bangalore-Dharmavaram sections. ‘‘We have tested trains on these two tracks. Eventually, we would like to speed up all trains starting from the city, as speed is the new mantra now,’’ Divisional Railway Manager Mahesh Kumar told this website’s newspaper.

Post speed trials, the Railways have sought the approval of the Commissioner for Railway Safety (CRS). Once the green signal is given, Shatabdi, Chennai Mail and Lalbagh Express on the City-Jolarpet section are high on the priority list.

After these changes are made, the Shatabdi journey will be shorter by 30 minutes. It currently takes five hours between Chennai and Bangalore. The reduction in journey time will be more for other trains.

There is also a proposal to speed up trains on the Bangalore-Tumkur route to 105 kmph, but trial runs are yet to be conducted, Kumar said.

Recently, there was a proposal to run the New Delhi-Agra Shatabdi at a speed of 150 kmph, thus reducing the journey time to 90 minutes. However, the idea was shot down by the CRS, who denied permission for the trial run, citing unsuitability of the tracks. The double track between City and Jolarpet is relatively new and trains can be operated at higher speeds.

To change speeds in different sections, a number of factors have to be taken into account. They include strength of the tracks, signalling system speed and the coaches themselves. As these aspects had been taken care of here, Kumar hoped this proposal is considered soon.

‘‘The Shatabdis in other regions already run at 130 kmph. Besides, we have taken steps to ensure compatibility for higher speed.’’ Track stabilisation works have been carried out and wooden turnouts (where trains change tracks) have been replaced with concrete ones.