TBM Staff - Mumbai
The Indian Railways has announced that two new Vande Bharat trains will soon be tested on routes that pass through Bareilly. The speed trial for these trains is expected to take place next month.
The new Vande Bharat Express services will operate on several routes, including Lucknow-Delhi, Kathgodam-Delhi, Tanakpur-Lucknow via Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, and Sitapur, and Ramnagar-Agra. These routes will be tested for speed by the end of the month.
The Northern Railway Moradabad division has recently added two new Vande Bharat Express trains to its fleet, one connecting Dehradun to Delhi and the other connecting Dehradun to Lucknow, both of which pass through Bareilly. The Northeast Railway Izzatnagar division is also planning to introduce a Vande Bharat Express service.
The average speed of Vande Bharat trains has decreased from 84.48 kmph in 2020-21 to 76.25 kmph in 2023-24, according to a response to an RTI query. Railway officials attribute this decrease to cautionary speed limits in areas where significant infrastructure work is underway and speed restrictions due to geographical or weather conditions.
For example, the Vande Bharat train between Mumbai CSMT and Madgaon operates in a difficult terrain area where speed restrictions are necessary for safety reasons. The train’s speed is limited to 75 kmph during the monsoon season due to the challenging conditions.
The RTI applicant, Chandra Shekhar Gaur, noted that the data shows a decline in average speed from 84.48 kmph in 2020-21 to 81.38 kmph in 2022-23 and further to 76.25 kmph in 2023-24.
