Trials of country's first Vande Bharat Freight rake begins in Kota

Kota: Technical trials of the country's first Vande Bharat Freight EMU, a superfast parcel rake, commenced in West Central Railway Kota Division on Wednesday, officials said.

The 16-coach Vande Bharat platform-based Freight EMU prototype rake, developed by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, will be tested under various speed and operating conditions on the Kota-Nagda-Sawai Madhopur rail section for nearly a month, they said.

Based on Vande Bharat technology, this technology will give a new dimension to e-commerce, express parcels, cold-chain logistics and time-bound freight transport across the country, an official statement said.


WC Railway Kota Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Saurabh Jain said Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) is conducting these trials on the Kota-Nagda-Sawai Madhopur section -- one of Indian Railways' most suitable high-speed test corridors.

On the first day of trial on Wednesday, the rake departed from Kota for Mahidpur Road at 6 am. Tests were conducted at a non-recorded speed of 120 km/h on the Kota-Mahidpur Road section, and at recorded speeds of 120 and 135 km/h on the Mahidpur Road-Bhawani Mandi section, Jain said.

Subsequently, during the return from Mahidpur Road to Kota, the rake achieved a maximum speed of 145 km/h, the highest speed recorded on the first day of this trial series, he said.

Detailed tests will be conducted for over a month on the Nagda-Kota-Sawai Madhopur rail section, they said, adding that a minimum of two round trips will be operated daily during the trials.

Tests to be carried include oscillation trials at speeds of 120, 130, 140 and 145 km/h in loaded and inflated condition, Emergency Braking Distance (EBD) tests, Coupler force trials, Curve performance tests, Traction, braking and jerk tests, Regenerative energy and PAPIS tests, Signal and telecom interference tests, Door operation and other safety tests, Static tests related to interior systems, CCTV, lighting and short circuits.

This state-of-the-art Freight EMU is a 16-coach rake, comprising 2 DTC (reefer vans), 2 Non-Driving Trailer coaches and 12 parcel coaches.

It features Vande Bharat bogies, an axle load capacity of over 20 tonnes, and a total payload capacity of over 397 tonnes.

The rake is equipped with refrigerated parcel facilities, forced ventilation, pneumatic retractable roller flooring and advanced braking and propulsion systems, the statement said, adding that Indian Railways' automated anti-collision system -- KAVACH -- has also been installed in it.

From a safety standpoint, all doors automatically lock at speeds above 5 km/h, and the rake cannot be operated without all doors being closed, it added.