The Indian Railways is planning to introduce a new and faster Rajdhani Express on the Mumbai-Delhi route within a month. This would be the third Rajdhani train connecting the two cities.
The train might be launched by Diwali and would cover the distance between Bandra and Nizamuddin in just 13 hours. Currently, there are two Rajdhani Express trains the August Kranti Rajdhani and the Mumbai Central New Delhi Rajdhani, which run between Delhi to Mumbai.
Both of them take more than 15 hours to cover the distance between Mumbai and the Delhi.
While the August Kranti Rajdhani takes around 17 hours to reach New Delhi, the Mumbai Central-New Delhi takes around 15 hours at an average speed of 89 kmph, to travel 1386 km.
“The trial run [for the new train] will start in a couple of days. We are using the existing 24-coach Mumbai Rajdhani with two engines to see if we can make the journey shorter by a few hours. We are using Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches,” a senior railways official told media.
Alternatively, sources said, the railways could introduce the new Rajdhani with 14 coaches and one engine to increase speed, and then determine which of the two is the better option.
The Mumbai Rajdhani has a sanctioned speed of 130 kmph. However, numerous curves and speed restrictions on the route bring the average speed down to about 89 kmph. The railways are hoping to increase this to 90-95 kmph, sources said.
