Mumbai-Pune possible in two hours with train upgrade, says railways
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The railways plans to run semi-high speed trains from Mumbai to Pune, Nashik and Vadodara on the lines of the Vande Bharat Express between New Delhi and Varanasi, which was flagged off in February, and which cut travel time between the two cities by 40%.
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If the plan succeeds, travel time between Mumbai and Pune, which are 192km apart, can be cut down to just 2 hours from the current 3 hours 15 minutes taken by the Deccan Queenin comparison, a local train ride from Churchgate to Dahanu, about 150km apart, takes two and a half hours. Similarly, Mumbai-Nashik will again be just 2 hours and Mumbai-Vadodara, 393km apart, 4 hours.
The railways will implement the plan in stages, starting with trial runs using upgraded Main Line Electrical Multiple Unit (MEMU) trains. The model of the Vande Bharat Express is called Train 18. The Mumbai-Pune and the other trains will be similar. The Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, has manufactured MEMUs similar to Train 18 and these will be used for the trials on the from-Mumbai routes.
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Railway Board’s member (rolling stock) Rajesh Agarwal said, “We will begin the trail runs in the next few days. The trials will be for both AC and non-AC train versions.” A source said the trials will be done on Central Railway.
MEMUs are a cross between long-distance trains and EMUs, or local trains. While coach dimensions and facilities like toilets are based on long-distance trains, like EMUs there are no separate locomotives but multiple power sources for multiple motors spread all along the train (multiple pantographs and motor rooms).
