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Ahmedabad-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express tickets and fare

During these test runs do they stack the coaches with dummies/sandbags to mimic the realistic runs. 180 KMPH with out weights will not translate to real time runs. Correct?

In reality, even the fastest trains don't do more than 140. The planned average speed even for the fastest Delhi-Varanasi Vande Bharat stands at 100 kph.

So 180 on test runs should be taken with a pinch of salt. This will not happen unless tracks are fenced to disallow any sort of interference.

The testing of these rakes (of trainset on this case) is quite comprehensive. Trust me, lack of power is not reason for the operational speeds being so much lower than the tested speeds. As another member had pointed out, for a track to be cleared for Semi-HSR speeds, quite a lot of tick-boxes like fencing, radii of turn, track quality etc. need to checked.I remember reading a very enlightening post on this aspect by a very senior railway engineer (maybe retired) on IRFCA quite some time ago. I will try and find that post to share it here.

So after the hue and cry about the Vande Bharat Express affecting the Tejas Express patronage, it is the Shatabdi Express that had to be rescheduled.

The Vande Bharat Express is scheduled to run just ahead of the Shatabdi from Mumbai Central to Gandhinagar with fewer stops at Surat, Baroda and Ahmedabad.

The Shatabdi will now run only upto Ahmedabad and return to Mumbai Central following the Vande Bharat Express in both directions.

Passengers from Borivali for example may find it more convenient to travel by the Shatabdi rather than have to back track all the way to Mumbai Central.

Vande Bharat Express's nose damaged after an incident with stray cattle somewhere in Ahmadabad.

Seems like the front can be easily brought to its earlier looks by replacing the fibre panels. Sorry for the cattle though. Now this brings the question, whether this needs a bull bar?

This is where I would like to chime in with my grandfather's views on train-FOD (Foreign object damage). He was a loco pilot on Steam as well as WDM2 (diesel electric). He used to say that the steam engines had the best protective buffers/cow catchers, at full throttle, the steam engine particularly would not even flinch and they (crew) would hardly notice the impact. The WDM2 in his experience sometimes had a problem where the poor animal's carcass would be lodged between the wheel bogies and the cow catcher. Looking at the damage to this carbon composite design , he would surely have a derisive snort. I think the engine cab needs a proper cow catcher, aesthetics be damned. We are not Japan to have Shinkansen style designs. Thankfully its just cattle(poor animal though). Cant imagine what would happen if it hits a truck or some similar vehicle.

I guess this design works if the tracks it is running on are fully protected like in countries were similar design trains run, or run a traditional Loco with a cow catcher since it obviously cannot be fitted on this.

This set will probably run with the cowl removed for a while till they get a new one.

For high speeds, Aerodynamics play a big role. Though hollow, a sleek nose is required. Cow catcher in front of it may or may not catch Cows, but many eyes are going to catch it.

Let us not forget that in India, most of the train routes do not have continuous " straight line" stretches, which is why there would always be a problem of attaining high sustained speeds(>200 kph) , unless you want to rebuild the entire rail network all over again and wreck the economy. So its better to be practical about it and keep working through other points of efficiency. I would rather they have advance collision warning that scans all potential hazards on track , even humans rather than just other trains. That would prevent most of the typical incidents .

Kineco Ltd manufactures nose for Vande Bharat express at their Goa plant. They currently have order book for 68 Vande Bharat nose & was recently awarded interior works for Vande Bharat trainsets

This is fixed now, there are some news where the WR team worked overnight to fix this. A perfect example of a "Nose Job".

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india...116392268.html

Just quoting the news, credit to original reporter....

Not the first time apparently.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/72420206.cms


I cannot 100% say from the pictures but it does appear that the cover was made without proper Moulds. I forgot the process, but it's usually done where volumes are not high. If we see the plastic threads coming out, it cannot be carbon; looks regular fabric, not even ABS plastics.

Trial run of South India's first Vande Bharat express (Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru) from Monday 7th November 2022