India speeds up Delhi-Mumbai rail plan

The Indian government is accelerating its plan to speed up the key Delhi-Mumbai railway line, by ordering a new high-speed train that can operate on the existing tracks.

The Economic Times reports that India is planning to acquire two trains from Spanish company Talgo, which will be able to cover the 1,384km journey in less than 12 hours. This would be up to four hours faster than the semi-high-speed Rajdhani Express trains that had been earmarked for the line.

“In principle, we want to get two rakes (sets of trains and carriages) on immediate basis,” the newspaper reported a ‘top’ railway official as saying, on condition of anonymity.

The Talgo trains would be more expensive than the Rajdhani Express, but they would have an average speed almost 35kph faster. This will help the Indian government’s long-term goal of accelerating the country’s overall network.

News Source: www.traveldailymedia.com