Bullet train will consume 30% more power than Delhi Metro

NEWDELHI: India’s first super-fast bullet train, which will connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad, will consume 30% more electricity than what the entire Delhi Metro network requires, according to an estimate by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is executing the project.

NHSRCL said the project, once operational, will require 1,100 million units of electricity per year to power the train and the stations it will stop at. In comparison, Delhi Metro, which runs on eight lines spanning 350 kilometres serving 236 stations and connects the capital with satellite towns like Gurugram and Noida, consumes 850 million units per annum.

Officials said this difference in consumption is because bullet trains need to attain a certain

speed — much higher than what a metro train is capable of — and because metro trains deploy regenerative braking, a technology that recovers some energy while stopping and converts it back into usable electricity.

According to NHSRCL, approximately 350 kilometres of transmission lines and high voltage cabling would be constructed in Gujarat and Maharashtra for the bullet train, for which the foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in September 2017.

The introduction of the country’s first bullet train, known as the Shinkansen in Japan and expected to be operational in 2022, will mark India’s shift to an era of high-speed trains capable of hitting speeds of up to 350 kilometres per hour.

Train 18, which will connect New Delhi and Varanasi, hit a top speed of 180 kilometres per hour during a test run in December, and is billed as India’s fastest train.

NHSRCL has already tied up with power generating companies, which will supply the 1,100 million required per year to power the inaugural bullet train.