Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Yash Gupte
The routes include ghat (hilly) sections, and operating trains on these sections until now required a banker engine (additional). Image Source: IANS
Vande Bharat will be able to go non-stop while ascending from CSMT to Solapur and Shirdi without using the banking engine.
First time in history, a train is set to run on the ghat (hilly) sections between Mumbai to Kasara and Mumbai to Pune without additional locomotives called ‘bankers,’ and the train is none other than Indian Railways’ Vande Bharat Express. Recently, Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw had shared a couple of videos of the soon to be introduced two new Vande Bharat Express trains which will operate on the Mumbai- Shirdi and Mumbai- Solapur routes. The routes include ghat (hilly) sections, and operating trains on these sections until now required a banker engine (additional). In the ghat sections, additional locomotives known as "bankers" are utilised to push trains from behind from the Mumbai side in order to stop them from rolling back. However, the parking brakes of the semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express are being tested during trials in the ghat (hilly) areas on the outskirts of Mumbai.
Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express between Mumbai and Solapur is likely to run through the Bhor ghat (located between Karjat and Khandala on the way to Pune) and is expected to cover the distance of around 455 km in six and half hours. Mumbai-Shirdi Vande Bharat Express is expected to run through the Thal ghat (in Kasara area near Mumbai) and cover a distance of 340 km in five and half hours. According to a railway official, both Bhor ghat and Thal ghat are among the toughest railway ghat sections in India.
In contrast to previous express trains, the Vande Bharat will be able to go non-stop while ascending from CSMT to Solapur and Shirdi without using the banking engine. In fact, Indian Railways has a specialist crew to run trains in the Ghat segment; but, for Vande Bharat, support from the specially trained ghat crew won't be required.
According to the official, other trains cannot employ Vande Bharat's traction motor technology and parking brake since those systems require a sophisticated electrical setup. On February 10 during his visit to Mumbai, the PM will flag-off Vande Bharat trains from CSMT for Shirdi and Solapur.
Considering the achievement of an important milestone in the history of Indian Railways, India Tracker takes a look at the progress made by railways in recent years.
According to official government data, the progress of Railway projects particularly in the segment of track electrification, gauge conversion, and initiation of new lines has been increasing over the past few years.
The rail network electrification done in the seven years between 2014 and 2021 (24,078 km) is over three times the coverage between 2007 and 2014 (7,223 km). The Indian Railways completed electrifying 6,015 kilometers in 2020-21, making it the highest-ever electrification mark in a single year. It surpassed its previous record of 5,276 kilometers completed in 2018-19.
The latest broad-gauge network of Indian Railways is 63,949 kilometers and with an addition of 740 kilometers of Konkan Railway, it totals 64,689 kilometers. Out of this, 45,881 kilometers, or 71 percent have been electrified as of June 2022.
However, it is also true that the Railways have never been able to complete their electrification target in all these years.
During the financial year till September 2022, railways have completed 1352 track kilometers of new lines, gauge conversions, and multi-tracking projects. The combined figure is more than three times the last year's corresponding figures for the same period during the last financial year. This excludes the potential game-changer for the logistics sector, the Dedicated Freight Corridors that is expected to reduce transport cost and almost double (over time) the Railways’ modal share in freight traffic, through their modern design and enhanced operational capabilities. The first two – the eastern and western freight corridors are expected to be commissioned by the 2023 year-end and could potentially enhance the profitability of the Railways’ freight business through better services to customers.
There has also been a significant increase in track renewals. Periodically, tracks are replaced on important routes to improve safety, passenger comfort, and speed. Track renewal data collated from the annual reports of the Ministry of Railways, the open data portal of the government, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha answers, and a press release of the government suggests that in 2013-14, 2885 km of tracks were renewed. In 2021-22, the number is more than 4400 km as per the above-collated data. This is important considering Railways' aspirations towards building a semi-high speed network.
The average length of renewal however is lower than the previous government. It was 3357 km a year during UPA-2 while it is 3027 km a year during the last six years of the current government. While it is encouraging to see that progress is being made, as the data shows, the pace of change is not nearly fast enough. 50 percent of the Railway network is already operating above line capacity, and there is a shortage of funds to meet track maintenance targets.
In spite of some difficulties and missing of targets, Indian Railways has been able to achieve major milestones like IR has loaded 1418.10 MT during 2021-22 as compared to 1233.24 MT in 2020-21.
