Rain delays high-speed Tango train’s Delhi-Mumbai trial run

The arrival of the high-speed Spanish train Tango in Mumbai on its final phase of trials on the Delhi-Mumbai route has been delayed due to heavy rains.

The train, which was to reach Mumbai by 10:00 am as per schedule is reported to have arrived after 11.30 am.

The train carrying Indian Railway officials and representatives of the Spanish company started its run from New Delhi station at 7.55 PM on Monday and was scheduled to arrive at Mumbai Central station at 10 am in the morning.

The third and final phase trials of the Spanish-made Talgo train had aimed at a maximum speed of 130 kmph.

On its return journey, the train is scheduled to start at 3:00 pm tomorrow (3 August) from Mumbai and reach New Delhi the next day at 5 pm.

The Talgo train ultimately aims to cut the travel time between Delhi and Mumbai to 12 hours, four hours less that the time the Rajdhani Express – the fastest train at present – takes for the Delhi-Mumbai run.

The trial runs will also be carried out on 5 August. On the second trial, the train will start from New Delhi at 7:55 pm on 5 August and reach Mumbai at about 8.50 am the next day, running at an average speed of 140 km.

The third trial will be on 8 August with the fourth and final test planned for 14 August.

The fourth trial will be at 150 kmph with higher speed on the curves.

The railways had conducted the first trial run of Talgo trains on the Bareilly-Moradabad stretch in Uttar Pradesh in May. The second trial run was conducted on the Palwal-Mathura section of the North-Central Railway.

Spanish-made Talgo became the fastest train in the country by clocking a speed of 180 kilometre per hour by covering 84 km in 38 minutes in a trial conducted by railways on Mathura-Palwal route, surpassing the record of Gatimaan Express.

The high-speed Talgo train is expected to cover the distance between Delhi and Mumbai in just 12 to 13 hours. The super fast Rajdhani Express train takes around 16 hours to complete the 1,384 km stretch between New Delhi and Mumbai.

The Rajdhani Express has an average running speed of nearly 91 kilometre per hour. It can further attain a top speed of 130 kilometres per hour.

Anil Saxena, PRO of the Indian Railway, said, ''Our tracks are capable of 200 kilometres per hour but our system is not capable of that speed.''

''These trains can turn on high speed and it's their advantage. We will analyse the train on all aspects. We just want to take a trail of this new technology,'' he added.