Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Aug 6: In good news for railway passengers travelling to the coast, the Mysuru Division of South Western Railway has geared up to conduct the trial run of the Bengaluru–Mangaluru Vande Bharat Express on the challenging Sakleshpur ghat section from August 11.
Union minister of State for Railways V Somanna had earlier announced that the Vande Bharat service on this route would commence by June. However, the launch was delayed due to the non-availability of a rake equipped with the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system, which is mandatory for operations on the difficult Sakleshpur–Subrahmanya Road ghat stretch.
A 20-coach Vande Bharat rake fitted with AEB technology has now arrived at the Mysuru Division from the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai. The train is currently stationed at Pandavapura railway station in Mandya district.
According to Mudit Mittal, divisional railway manager of the Mysuru Division, the trial run will be conducted from August 11 to August 20. A team from the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) of Indian Railways will shortly arrive to oversee the trials.
The Vande Bharat train is equipped with advanced electro-pneumatic (EP) disc brakes and a regenerative braking system. However, the Sakleshpur–Subrahmanya Road ghat section has extremely steep gradients, making additional safety measures essential.
At present, trains operating on this route require banker engines (additional locomotives) for safe movement through the ghat section. Attaching and detaching these engines takes around 15 minutes.
For the Vande Bharat train, connecting an external banker engine would require removing the train's aerodynamic nose section, a process that consumes additional time and defeats the purpose of the train's high-speed operation.
To overcome this, the Railways had been awaiting a special Vande Bharat rake equipped with an Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system that can automatically regulate the train's speed to a maximum of 30 kmph on the ghat section.
With the arrival of the AEB-equipped rake, the Railways expects to obtain formal approval from the Railway Board for commercial operations immediately after the successful completion of the trial run.