Heavy rain delays Talgo arrival in city

High-speed train completes trial from Delhi to Mumbai, but an hour, 40 min late.

Spanish made-Talgo failed its trial by water on Tuesday when flooding and washed-out tracks near Vapi delayed the train by an hour and 40 minutes during its final phase of trials. Further trials are still pending, but if successful, the train will run at 180 kmph between Mumbai and Delhi, faster than the Delhi-Agra Gatimaan Express that can run up to 160 kmph.

According to officials on board the Talgo, the train hit the 180-kmph mark only at Mathura for a while, but was relegated to the comparatively glacial speed of 40 kmph once the train entered Gujarat. The nine coaches of the train left Delhi at 7.55 pm and was expected to reach Mumbai by 10 am, but the continuous downpour in Gujarat, washing away of the tracks and signal failures at Vapi and other sections towards Mumbai delayed the train, which finally reached Mumbai Central at 11.40 am. “The journey from Delhi to Gujarat was wonderful as we hit the 180-kmph mark at Mathura, but once it entered Gujarat, it was not moving beyond 40 kmph, barely touching 10 to 15 kmph at some sections,” said an official from the Talgo company, on condition of anonymity.

The entire body of the train is made of aluminium instead of the usual steel used by Indian Railways. The aluminium makes it lighter. “One coach of Talgo weighs only 16 tonnes while our normal coaches weigh 46 to 48 tonnes and if its an AC class, say III, II or I, it can go up to 52 tonnes. The light weight is one of the reasons the train can run fast,” said a railway official on condition of anonymity.

The problem for the train started at 11.50 pm when flooding and signal failures were reported between Vapi and Udvada. “The water was 12 inches above the rail. Around 2 am, the ballast and tracks were washed away on a small bridge between Bhiladh and Vapi owing to which we had to shut down all movement in the areas between Vapi and Mumbai from 2 am to 4.30 am,” said another official on condition of anonymity.

All trains such as the August Kranti, Rajdhani and over 40 outstation trains were delayed from and to Mumbai, including the Talgo one.