Gatimaan Express, which has been declared as India’s fastest train with speed of 160+ km/hr is now ready to be launched. Test runs of this train have been successful, as it covered 195 kms within 115 minutes between New Delhi and Agra Cannt. railway stations. As per reports coming in, PM Modi will inaugurate first commercial run of this train somewhere between 2nd and 3rd week of June.
As of now, there has been two test runs of this train, and both were successful.
Initially, this train will run between India’s two biggest tourist destinations: Delhi and Agra. Later, several more routes can be included for India’s first semi-high speed train.
A senior official from Indian Railways said, “The clearance from CRS (Commissioner of Railway Safety) is expected any time and we are gearing up to launch the train by June 9,”
Interesting Facts about Gatimaan Express
– Engine of Gatimaan Express is powered by 5,400HP electric locomotive and the train will have 12 modern coaches
– On June 2nd, during the 2nd trial run of the train, it departed New Delhi’s Paharganj Railway station at 11.15 AM and arrived at Agra Cannt. railway station at 1.10 PM. There was a delay of 10 minutes.
– To attain highest speed of 160+ km/hr, Railways have fenced off the tracks at some sections, and signaling mechanism have been upgraded.
– One way fare for AC Chain Car (CC) category has been finalized at Rs 690, which is 25% more than the fare of Shatabdi Express in the same route. Rs 1365 would be the fare for Executive Class.
– As per the initial plan, the train will start from New Delhi at 8 AM and reach Agra by 9.45 AM, thereby covering a distance of 195 kms in 115 minutes. From Agra, the train will start at 5.30 PM and reach Delhi at 7.15 PM.
– The train is equipped with additional security features such as automatic fire alarm, emergency breaking system, sliding doors and advanced passenger information system.
– The coaches for this train have been designed specially at the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala in consultation with RDSO (Research Development and Standard Organisation). Each coach will cost around Rs 2.5 crore. Besides 12 regular coaches, there would be 2 spare coaches as well.
– 8 inch LCD will be provided behind every seat of this train. Initially, these will showcase pre-programmed content, like in-flight entertainment system. Later on, provision of live-feed would be implemented, powered by satellite television and content distribution.
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As per various reports, after Delhi-Agra corridor, Gatimaan Express will soon be launched in these routes: Chandigarh-New Delhi; Kanpur-New Delhi; Hyderabad-Chennai; Goa-Mumbai; Nagpur-Bilaspur and Nagpur-Secunderabad.
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