Vande Bharat Express, the semi-high-speed train of the country will soon run on two new routes – Mumbai-Solapur and Mumbai- Shirdi from February 10 onwards. However, a railway official confirmed that the ghat trial of the trains will be conducted before the launch, which will happen soon. “Two soon-to-be-launched Vande Bharat Express trains from Mumbai will undergo trials in the hilly ghat sections on the city’s outskirts without deployment of additional locomotives before their inauguration,” railway officials have said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off these trains on Feb 10. The launch of this route will help in reducing the travel time between the destinations.

Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express Route

The Vande Bharat Express between Mumbai and Solapur is likely to run via the Bhor ghat (located between Karjat and Khandala on way to Pune) and is expected to cover a distance of around 400 km between the two places in 6.35 hours. The nearly 25-km-long Bhor ghat (also called Khandala ghat) is spread between Karjat and Khandala stations.

Mumbai-Shirdi Vande Bharat Express Route

On the other hand, the Mumbai-Shirdi high-speed train is expected to run via the Thal ghat (in Kasara on Mumbai’s outskirts) and cover a distance of around 340 km between them in 5.25 hours, they said. The 14-km-long Thal ghat (also known as Kasara ghat) is spread between Kasara and Igatpuri sections. Both the ghats have multiple tunnels and high via-ducts.

Use of Bankers in Trains on Ghat Sections

At present, all trains passing through these ghats are hauled up by additional locomotives (called bankers) from the Mumbai side. According to the officials, they expect to receive the trains from Chennai-based Integrated Coach Factory within the next week and thereafter, the trials will be started immediately on both the ghat sections. Bankers are used for pushing trains in ghat sections, besides avoiding incidents of train rollback in case of parting of coaches. But the process of attaching and detaching bankers takes at least a few minutes, increasing travel time due to technical halts, an official explained.

To do away with bankers in ghat sections, both Vande Bharat Express trains will be fitted with parking brakes, which will stop the train from rolling down on a gradient, the official said. Having a gradient of 1:37 that means for every 37-metre run there is a rise of 1 metre. Both Bhor and Thal ghats are among the toughest railway ghat sections in the county, according to the officials.

Vande Bharat Express

So far, eight Vande Bharat Express trains have been launched on various inter-state routes, including one between Mumbai and Gandhinagar. Vande Bharat Express is an indigenously designed semi-high-speed self-propelled train set of 16 coaches. The train reaches a speed of 160 kmph in just 140 seconds and provides better riding comfort for passengers.

The train has a control management system for monitoring air-conditioning and every coach is fitted with passenger information and infotainment system. Fitted with automatic plug doors with sliding footsteps and touch-free sliding doors inside coaches, the train is equipped with aeroplane-like bio-vacuum toilets. The train is also equipped with ‘kavach’, a train collision avoidance system.

With inputs from PTI