Vande Bharat freight train begins trials on Ahmedabad-Mumbai route
India's first Vande Bharat freight train has started trials between Ahmedabad and Mumbai Central, following a 145 kmph run on West Central Railway.
The country's first Vande Bharat freight train has begun trial runs on Western Railway, operating between Ahmedabad and Mumbai Central. The development follows the completion of its trial on West Central Railway.
A senior official from the Ahmedabad Division confirmed that the trial is being conducted on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad circuit. The exercise is intended to assess the train's performance and safety across different speeds.
The 16-coach Freight EMU is based on the Vande Bharat platform and has been developed by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. It is designed to carry parcels and other goods at high speed.
The rake comes equipped with advanced propulsion and braking systems, a special roller floor system for easier parcel loading, automatic wide sliding doors, temperature-controlled reefer facilities, CCTV surveillance and fire detection systems.
During its earlier trial on the Chaumahla-Shamgarh-Gurla section of West Central Railway, the train touched a speed of 145 kmph. It was tested in an empty condition, with teams from the Research Designs and Standards Organisation and the Integral Coach Factory present. The checks included emergency braking and an evaluation of the train's movement and performance at varying speeds.
That round of testing was carried out on both the Up and Down lines of the Nagda-Kota-Sawai Madhopur section. The freight EMU uses Vande Bharat-based technology and runs on bogies with a 20.32-tonne axle load. The trial focused on the rake's stability, operational performance and movement at different speeds.