Railway Modernisation: Spain’s Talgo Train Successfully Completes Delhi-Mumbai Trials

The Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) of the Indian Railways informed on Monday that the Spanish Talgo train, known for its low maintenance cost and high speed, has successfully completed six scheduled test-runs between Delhi and Mumbai.

In its report, the organisation states that the train came close to the target time of 12-hours in three trials out of five and took less than the stipulated time in two other tests. In the one remaining test, the train lagged behind due to track flooding after a heavy downpour in Gujarat. Therefore, the report concludes that the tests were successful.

The train completed its trials at average speeds of 130, 140 and 150 kilometers per hour (kph) and took 12 hours, 11 hours, 16 minutes and 11 hours and 39 minutes respectively to complete the distance, the report said.

Talgo was selected because of its ability to run on Indian tracks, unlike other international vendors which need minor modification to the existing tracks. Its low weight, efficiency and low maintenance cost add to its advantage. With no modification required to the existing tracks, Talgo can be commissioned to the Indian Railways as soon as a decision is taken.

An option to manufacture the trains in India or a direct supply from Spain has been proposed to the government by the vendor. While direct supply from Spain will take lesser time, manufacturing in India will generate employment and build local manufacturing capacity.