Wait for hi-speed Train 18 in South may get longer Train 19, Rajdhani version, to roll out this year
Rail commuters in Southern Railway (SR) must wait longer than they had thought to board a Train 18 built in the Integral Coach Factory (ICF).
By : migrator
Update: 2019-05-22 02:41 GMT
Chennai
Indian Railway seems to have not even planned to allot the near indigenously built semi high-speed train capable of clocking 160-200 kmph in the zone covering Tamil Nadu and Kerala any time soon.
Rajesh Agarwal, member (Rolling stock), Railway Board (RB) on Tuesday revealed that they have not received requests to operate Train 18 from the state. Interacting with media persons after inspecting the coaching unit here, Rajesh said, “Let the requirement come from the state of Tamil Nadu. I don’t think any request has come from the state government as of now. Normally, requests come through the Parliamentarians from the state.”
Asked if such requests were received for Delhi-Varanasi sector, the evasive Railway Board member said the Delhi-Varanasi route was a promising one. “Whenever we introduce a product, it is done where it is most promising.”
On operating Train 18 on Chennai–Bengaluru sector, he said, “Bangalore is nothing. I can take a Shatabdi also. Delhi-Varanasi is most promising. It is running full.”
No demand for AC EMU rakes for SR
Even as the Southern Railway was reported to have placed request for two AC EMU rakes on par with Mumbai, Rajesh said, “We have no demand for AC EMU rakes for the Southern Railway. If they raise it, I will take it up.” Joining the issue, ICF general manager and in charge of SR, Rahul Jain said, “We are trying to have fast corridor of Southern Railway get operational shortly. After fast corridor is commissioned, we have to work it out,” before adding that it was necessary to juxtapose pricing, stocking and dwell time of the rake with rake requirement.
Train 19, Rajdhani version, to roll out this year
Rajesh Agarwal, member (Rolling stock), Railway Board (RB), also announced that ICF would roll out the Rajdhani version of Train 18 with sleeper facility meant for overnight journey this year. Trumpeting the success of Vande Bharat Express, he said, “We are not stopping at Train 18. ICF, this year, is coming out with Train 19, the Rajdhani version.”
Responding to a specific query on Train 18 production target for this fiscal, he said, “We have churned out 2. First for this year. We are still working out the requirement. ICF have the potential to turn out large numbers. We have to think where it should be slotted. Idea is not just dumping rakes.”
“The board has given its nod for 40 train sets in three years. It can be produced in the first year itself. We are not looking for it. Requirement and technology has to stabilise. There is no hurry as such. We may require a MEMU or LHB in preference to Train 18. Why should we produce them for the heck of it?” he added. He also refused to elaborate on ICF or rather IR going slow on Train 18 production. He disclosed that the government has sanctioned in principle to invest Rs 500 crore to augment Train 18 production in ICF which rolled out its 60,000th coach on Tuesday.
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