Modified Train 18 to replace Shatabdi Express on Mumbai-Delhi route

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, May 27

The Railways are planning to ply a modified version of the indigenously developed Train 18 on the Mumbai-Delhi route, according to officials here.

Based on feedback received from passengers of the first Train 18, which set plying between New Delhi and Varanasi, a number of modifications have been carried out in the interiors and exteriors of the train.

“We have made some changes to the chairs in the train which can be tilted and moved a little. We have also modified trays to hold food and drinks as suggested by the passengers,” a Railway official said.

Officials at the Western Railways, which is likely to ply the next version of Train 18, said a number of new safety features have also been incorporated into its design.

A demand from a section of passengers that sleepers be installed in the trains used in longer journeys was still being considered, according to officials.

The second train set of Train 18 is expected to roll out of the Integral Coach Factory in Tamil Nadu this week.

There will be several tests before the rake is cleared for regular service by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, according to officials.

Should the Railways finally give the go-ahead, the Train 18 set will start plying as the Vande Bharat Express and replace the Shatabdi Express which runs between New Delhi and Mumbai, according to sources.

While the Shatabdi Express covers the distance between the two cities in 16 hours, the Vande Bharat Express will do so in just 12.

A Train 18 train set comprises of 16 air-conditioned chair cars which are connected via vestibules enabling passengers to move from one end of the train to the other.

The doors of the train are operated from the pilot’s cabin and they are shut before it begins rolling.