Delhi-Mumbai Special Rajdhani to have engines at both ends
What's the story
For the first time in the Indian Railways, a passenger train - the Mumbai-Delhi Special Rajdhani - will have an engine at the front and at the rear, to save travel time. The technique has yielded favorable results for goods trains. The Western Railways is set to hold trials with the Special Rajdhani which travels from Bandra Terminus to Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin. Here's more.
Travel time
Dual engines can bring travel time down by an hour
The Special Rajdhani already saves two hours compared to the normal ones. In addition to that, the application of the "push and pull" technique with two engines is expected to decrease the travel time by a further 30-60 minutes. However, the actual decrease cannot be ascertained before trials are carried out. Notably, dual engines at the front and real offer several advantages.
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A technical upgrade is needed for synchronizing the two engines
"Though the engine will be attached to the rear, its operations will be carried by the loco pilot in the front locomotive. We need technical upgrade for perfect synchronization between the locomotives for speed and braking," said Western Railways' public relations officer, Raviner Bhakar.
Advantages
The multiple advantages of having dual engines
Engines at the rear and the front of the train will allow the Special Rajdhani to accelerate and decelerate faster. Additionally, the two engines will also ensure swifter braking, further allowing the train to reach speeds of 160km/h wherever possible in the journey. On top of that, the train can be pulled out of a station quickly to save time.