Vande Bharat Express Trains Trials Likely on 10 February for Mumbai to Shirdi and Mumbai to Solapur Ghat Routes

PM Narendra Modi may launch Vande Bharat Express trains on two routes connecting the tier-2 cities on 10 February: Mumbai to Shirdi and Mumbai to Solapur.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: February 01, 2023

The trial for Vande Bharat Express trains on two routes will take place on 10 February in the ghat sections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present to launch the said train for the routes Mumbai to Solapur and Mumbai to Shirdi. The high-speed train from Mumbai to Shirdi will probably run through the Thal ghat in Kasara clocking 5.25 hours and 340 kilometers.

And the Mumbai to Solapur Vande Bharat train will possibly run through the Bhor ghat, which is placed between Karjat and Khandala in the direction of Pune. It will cover 400 kilometers in 6.35 hours. Currently, additional locomotives or bankers are used to haul the trains that pass through both these ghats. The bankers also help to avoid train rollback if the parting of coaches occurs. A railway official said that they may receive trains within the next week and later from Chennai-based integrated Coach Factory.

And after this, the trials will begin for the ghat sections. The bankers attaching and detaching consumes a few minutes, leading to an increase in travel time because of technical halts. Vande Bharat Express will assist in substituting the bankers for the ghat sections as it will come with parking brakes. These brakes will avert the train from rolling down on a gradient. The trains will have a gradient of 1:37. It indicates a rise of 1 meter for every 37-meter run.

Thal ghat also known as Kasara ghat is 14 kilometer long. It runs between Kasara and Igatpuri sections. The Bhor ghat is known as Khandala ghat as well. It is around 25 kilometers long and runs between Karjat and Khandala stations. These ghats are also the toughest railway sections in India, with high via ducts and multiple tunnels.

Vande Bharat Express trains are equipped with automatic plug doors with sliding footsteps, a control management system to keep air-conditioning in check, a touch-free sliding door in the coach itself, and passenger infotainment and information system for each coach. The train also has ‘kavach’, which is a collision-avoidance system. Last but not the least, the train also has bio-vacuum toilets like those in airplanes.

There are a total of eight trains of Vande Bharat Express to date, which the center has launched for different inter-state routes. It also comprises one that runs between Mumbai and Gandhinagar. This is a semi-high-speed indigenously designed train. It is a self-propelled automotive with a set of 16 coaches, with a speed of 160 kmph covered in only 140 seconds, giving a better comfort and riding experience to passengers.