New Delhi: The Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat trial run begins today and will be launched soon. Currently, three Vande Bharat trains are running in Mumbai. One Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Rajdhani, one Mumbai-Sainagar Shirdi, and a third Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express train
The electrification of the Mumbai-Goa rail route was completed last month, and the new train service will start after inspection. Vande Bharat trains are capable of running at a maximum speed of 180 km/h. These advanced trains have GPS-based passenger information systems, bio-vacuum toilets, automatic doors, Wi-Fi, and a regenerative braking system. This is the first class of trains between Mumbai-Pune and Mumbai-Nashik to embark and disembark on steep ghats without any supporting rear engine.
According to an RTI, the Vande Bharat Express has been running at an average speed of around 83 mph in the last two years due to poor track conditions, while the maximum speed for commercial services is 130 km.
Last month, an RTI was filed by Chandra Shekhar Gaur of Madhya Pradesh, which noted that the average speed of Vande Bharat is less than the permissible top speed of 130 km/h for commercial services.
The average speed of the semi-high-speed train was 84.48 kmph in 2021–22 and 81.38 kmph in 2022–23. Officials said that the average speed of Vande Bharat trains is better than that of Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains.
