Rail Budget 2015: Subdued version of bullet trains on the cards

NEW DELHI: Bullet trains may be a distant reality for India but the Narendra Modi government is gearing up to introduce a subdued version of this in the form of train sets. Train sets are similar to bullet trains in that the coaches are self-propelled and are not pulled by locomotive. As a result, power is equally distributed across the system and hence the travel time is substantially reduced. However, unlike bullet trains, these will not require dedicated tracks.

The railways ministry will initially import train sets, consisting of eight coaches each, but going forward the government will work towards manufacturing such trains in India, much-in line with PM Modi's vision of ' Make in India'. "Based on the experience, train sets will be considered for manufacture in India. It is our endeavour to expand jobs for Indians at every level," railway minister Suresh Prabhu said while presenting his maiden rail budget in Parliament on Thursday. Industry experts call train sets an advanced, up-market version of EMUs.

These consist of self-propelled carriages and use electricity as the motive power. A train set requires no separate locomotive as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages. The cost per set (8 coaches) is expected to be Rs 120 crore. EMUs are popular on commuter and suburban rail networks around the world due to their fast acceleration and pollution-free operation.

REDUCED TRAVEL TIME

With an eye on increasing speed and reducing travel time, Suresh Prabhu-led Indian Railways will soon introduce engine-free, self propelling train sets, on the lines of bullet trains, to run on existing tracks. The idea is to bring down travel time of inter-metro journeys by a fifth so as to attract air travellers. The project, expected to cost `100 crore, may see imported trains running in India in the next two years.

"With a view to providing superior riding experience and about 20% savings in journey time, it is proposed to introduce a very modern train system called train sets. These are similar to bullet trains in design and can run on existing tracks without an engine to haul them," railway minister Prabhu said.

While presenting his maiden rail budget. For railways, this will imply higher capacity, greater energy savings and increased throughput, the minister said, adding, "We hope that the first set of these trains would be running on our system within the next two years. Based on the experience, train sets will be considered for manufacture in India."

Railways ministry officials told ET that a train set will have eight coaches, which will be imported at the cost of Rs 100 crore and will run on the existing infrastructure. "Train sets are upmarketversionof EMUs(electricalmultiple units), technologically more advanced and hence they address the logistics issues besides significantly increasing throughput," Vinayak Chatterjee of Feedback Ventures said, adding that these trains can potentially replace even Rajdhanis and Shatabdis.

Indian Railways has proposed to increase the speed of nine railway corridors from the existing 110 and 130 km per hour to 160 and 200 km per hour respectively so that inter-metro journeys on Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi-Mumbai routes, for instance, can be completed overnight. This will involve upgradation of track including turnarounds, improving rolling stock to higher standards and adopting improved methods of track recording, monitoring and maintenance, besides introduction of train sets.

"The idea to reduce travel time for intermetro journeys to overnight is possible only with locomotive-free self-propelled coaches. Once introduced, it will help in attracting even air travellers," said Tilak Raj Seth, cochair of the Confederation of Indian Industry's rail committee. This will be over and above the government's effort to “pursue with vigour” special projects like high-speed rail or bullet trains between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. “The feasibility study for this was in an advanced stage and was expected by the middle of this year. Quick and appropriate action will be taken once the report is available with us," Prabhu said.