Train 18 which is India’s first locomotive-less train has officially become the fastest train in the country after it ran at a sustained speed of 180 km per hour during the trial run.
The train will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 29. Train 18 has proved out to be faster than the ‘Gatiman Express’ which was till now believed to be the fastest with a top speed of 160 kmph.
Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal on Wednesday tweeted:
Need for Speed: Train 18 seen cruising at a sustained 180Km/h, officially becoming the fastest train in India pic.twitter.com/2VNF1U3qrl
— Piyush Goyal (मोदी का परिवार) (@PiyushGoyal) December 26, 2018
The train is likely to replace Shatabdi trains. It will have two executive compartments with 52 seats each and trailer coaches with 78 seats each. Also, the executive class of the train will have rotating seats to match the direction of the train.
The train is scheduled to start from New Delhi station at 6 am and is expected to reach Varanasi at 2 pm. On the return journey, it will start at 2.30 pm from Varanasi and reach the national capital at 10.30 pm on the same day.
The gleaming blue-nosed Train 18 is going to be a 100-crore indigenously designed train. It was manufactured by Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai. The train is at par with the best trains globally with on-board WiFi to a GPS-based passenger information system, touch-free bio-vacuum toilets, LED lighting, mobile charging points, and a climate control system.
It has aerodynamically designed driver cabins at both ends for quicker turn-around at destinations. The train has an advanced regenerative braking system which saves power.
ICF is likely to roll out one more Train 18 this fiscal and four by the next fiscal.