The work of rapidly advancing the ‘Mission Raftaar’ of Indian Railways has begun. In this connection, the first trial will be conducted on 9th August between Mumbai and Ahmedabad on the Western Railway at 130kmph. In this trial, a 20-coach Vande Bharat train will be used, and special equipment will be installed. The Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) team has reached Ahmedabad about this, and equipment is being installed in the trial rake.
Trial Is A Part Of ‘Mission Raftaar’
Five years ago, the ‘Mission Raftaar’ project started to run trains between Mumbai and Delhi at 160 km per hour. The work related to this project, which involved 1,478 route km and Rs 8 thousand crore, has been completed. If the official associated with the mission is to be believed, first, there will be trials of 130kmph, and after this, there will be trials with 160kmph in several phases and different sections.
Safety Fencing Has Been Done
Fencing is necessary on both ends of the tracks on the entire route to run the train at speed. About 50% of the whole route, or 792 km, is under the jurisdiction of Western Railway, and the work of cattle fencing and wall fencing has almost been completed in this area. According to sources, the country’s first sleeper, Vande Bharat, will likely run between Mumbai and Delhi.
Will Be Safe With Armor
Indian Railways’ Kavach technology is used throughout the route to increase train safety and speed. Trains fitted with Kavach cannot collide head-on because automatic brakes are applied before the collision.
In December 2022, 3 contracts were awarded to install ‘Kavach’ in 90 engines on 735 km on Western Railway, the work of which has been completed. This technology has been successfully trialled on Western Railway. So far, trials have been conducted on 62 km of Vadodara-Ahmedabad section, 40 km of Virar-Surat and 37 km of Vadodara-Ratlam-Nagda section.
Railway’s Target is 160kmph.
Currently, the average speed of trains on Indian railways is 70 to 80 km per hour, which the railways want to increase to 160 km per hour. To increase the speed of trains, the Railways have widened the base under the tracks so that the speed remains stable. 2×25000-volt (two separate 25 thousand volts) power lines have been built on its entire route. In the Western Railway area of this project, 134 curves have been straightened.
For a speed of 160 km per hour, a rail (track) of 60 kg 90 UTS is required, whereas in most places in Indian Railways, tracks of 52 kg 90 UTS are installed. As per the project, changing the tracks on the Mumbai-Delhi route is almost complete. To increase the speed, the cushion of stone pebbles under the tracks has been increased from 250 mm to 300 mm.
Project In Figures
Corridor: Mumbai to Delhi
Approved: 2017-18
Total length: 1,478 km
Cost: ₹8 thousand crore
