Engine-less Train 18 now on tracks, Train 20 next
India’s first engine-less semihigh speed train — Train 18 — was rolled out on Monday by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai and will eventually replace the Shatabdi Express for inter-city travel.
The 16-coach semi-high speed 'trainset' built at a cost of ~1 billion per rake with 80 per cent Indian component has been designed for a maximum operating speed of 160 kmph, officials said.
This is the first long-distance train sans separate locomotive (engine) and was flagged off at the ICF premises by Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani. It would undergo trials in coming months, ICF officials said.
The fully air-conditioned train, driven by a self-propulsion module, has the potential to become the country's fastest train provided the infrastructure was improved, Lohani said. Five more units of the train would be produced by the ICF by the end of 201920 production year, he said.
The swanky 16-coach train will cut journey time by 15 per cent compared to the 30-year old Shatabdi.
“It is a matter of pride that India has made such a train and that too, the ICF has done it within 18 months,” Lohani told reporters here. “Within 2018-19 production year, another unit of the train would be manufactured and four more units would be manufactured by end of 2019-20 production year, ” Lohani said. Train-18 has two driving trailer coaches with aerodynamic driver's cab (nose cone) on both the ends which will enable quicker turnaround time at destinations.