Goemkarponn Desk
MARGAO: The Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat trial will start today (16 May), paving the way for an official launch soon. Mumbai has three Vande Bharat trains at present–Mumbai Central – Ahmedabad – Gandhinagar Capital; Mumbai – Sainagar Shirdi, and Mumbai – Solapur Vande Bharat Express trains. The fourth Vande Bharat semi-high-speed train will be operated soon as the trial starts today.
The electrification of the Mumbai-Goa railway route was completed last month and the new train service will be introduced following an inspection.
Vande Bharat trains are capable of running at a maximum speed of 180 km/hour. These advanced trains comprise GPS-based passenger information systems, bio-vacuum toilets, automatic doors, wi-fi, and regenerative braking systems.
These are the first category of trains to ascend and descend the steepest ghats between Mumbai-Pune and Mumbai-Nashik without any supporting rear engines.
The semi-high-speed train is a first-of-its-kind self-propelled train set with executive class coaches having revolving chairs which can rotate up to 180 degrees. Indian Railways has been working on a plan to operate 75 Vande Bharat trains by 2023 end across the country on prominent routes.
At present, 10 Vande Bharat Express trains are plying on different routes. These include- New Delhi-Varanasi, New Delhi – Shri Vaishno Devi Mata Katra, Gandhinagar Capital – Ahmedabad – Mumbai Central, Amb Andaura – New Delhi, Mysuru – Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. MGR Chennai Central, Nagpur – Bilaspur, Howrah – New Jalpaiguri, Secunderabad – Visakhapatnam, Mumbai – Sainagar Shirdi, and Mumbai – Solapur Vande Bharat Express train.
