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Take a break from the ordinary and spend ten minutes at Kota Jn. in the middle of the night to watch the Talgo change crew after a non stop run from New Delhi, on its way to Mumbai on a trial run to cover the distance of close to 900 miles (slightly less than the New York to Chicago distance) under 13 hours (close to 12 hours), compared to over 16 hours - the current best scheduled time. The substantial crowd that showed up in the middle of the night illustrates the fascination that Indians have about their trains.
The Talgo is near the end of the 11 minute video. It is pulled by a Bombardier derivative WAP-5 class 25kV 50Hz Bo-Bo electric engine.
You also get to see several very long long distance trains pulled typically by the more powerful WAP-7 class Co-Co engines, and one ALCO derivative most likely WDM-2 class diesel.
Indian Railways have concluded that with several significant modification to meet Indian conditions better, the Talgo would be suitable for reducing running times on the Golden Quadrilateral trunk routes, though capacity could be a problem, specially in Sleepers, given the low profile of the train. Of course India is already blessed with having all the first level trunk routes fully electrified and the WAP-5 Class is already capable of 200kph (125mph) which is the target maximum speed for this sort of LD service. Signaling will be upgraded to ERTMS Level 2 to support such an increase in permitted speed.
The Talgo is near the end of the 11 minute video. It is pulled by a Bombardier derivative WAP-5 class 25kV 50Hz Bo-Bo electric engine.
You also get to see several very long long distance trains pulled typically by the more powerful WAP-7 class Co-Co engines, and one ALCO derivative most likely WDM-2 class diesel.
Indian Railways have concluded that with several significant modification to meet Indian conditions better, the Talgo would be suitable for reducing running times on the Golden Quadrilateral trunk routes, though capacity could be a problem, specially in Sleepers, given the low profile of the train. Of course India is already blessed with having all the first level trunk routes fully electrified and the WAP-5 Class is already capable of 200kph (125mph) which is the target maximum speed for this sort of LD service. Signaling will be upgraded to ERTMS Level 2 to support such an increase in permitted speed.
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