IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 961 - 980
From: Ajai Banarji <banarji@unixg.email
Subject:
Date: 11 Sep 1992 12:58:00 -0500
Book for sale
Is anyone interested in a (photocopy) of the book "Great Railway Journeys
of the World", giving details of the BBC program which keeps appearing
on PBS. I can sell it for $8.
From: aravind <aravind@vax135.email
Subject: IRFCA CONVENTION #2 (Sep. 1992)
Date: 14 Sep 1992 08:59:00 -0500
Hi everyone,
Here's an attempt at reporting the highlights of the 2nd IRFCA
convention. In attendance were Siddhartha from Rochester,
Jishnu Mukherji, myself, and our hosts, Vijay and his consort Sunita.
This event began when we all gathered at Vijay's den in
Poughkeepsie on Friday night and lasted until Vijay and I put
Siddhartha on a train back to Rochester on Sunday morning.
The centerpiece of this gathering was a collection of videos
personally recorded by our host on his recent India trip.
We watched him first clattering across the Deccan
on the Dadar-Madras express, with a big wedding party.
He seems to have stayed up all night to record the crossings of other
trains. This video journey ended with a WAM-4 elec. loco
pulling the train past Renigunta junction, into the sunset.
His next trips were to Kodaikanal and back on the MG Pandian express.
Once again, we were treated to a few eerie night-crossings - with
appropriate light and sound effects made possible by
the approaching train. Then the scene abruptly switched to a rainy
Bombay Central station as our rambunctious host prepared to leave on
the Saurashtra mail for Mithapur, which is one stop shy of the train's
other terminus at Okha. The overtaking of this train by the
Frontier Mail at Valsad was dutifully captured on video.
And then we were treated to a pair of rides in the cabs of two
locomotives- the first a WAM-4 between Manmad and Bhusaval and the
second a WDM-2 between Bhusaval and Khandwa. The train involved
was the Mahanagari express to Varanasi. Now we could see for ourselves
the driver working his magic at the controls. Some detailed
explanations given by the drivers were lost in the noise,
unfortunately (for some reason, the noise inside the elec. loco is
much higher than that inside the diesel).
The return trip from Varanasi provided the most memorable views -
the Ganga bridge outside Varanasi and the Yamuna bridge at Allahabad -
and to cap it all, Vijay's camera captured TWO trains simultaneously
coming into Varanasi, one from Mughal Sarai and the other on the newly
converted BG line from Bhatni. This scene was frozen on the screen
and photographed by Siddhartha.
As Vijay's Indian journeys ended, the convention too started to wind
up. After dinner, Jishnu bid adieu. The rest of us stayed up awhile
discussing timetable trivia, train statistics, and the like. There
were some articles on the proposed "unigauge system" for IR in the
April '92 issue of the Indian Railways magazine. Yes, they do have a
plan in place to attain the unigauge goal by 2020...
After Siddhartha was escorted to his train (this time, a real-life
Amtrak cruiser) on Sunday morning, it was all over ...
Ajai called sometime Saturday from Vancouver BC to share the fun.
The speakerphone so thoughtfully installed by our host came in quite
handy ...
Regards,
Aravind
From: VIJAYB <VIJAYB@PK705VMG.EMAIL
Subject: Breaking the silence!
Date: 29 Sep 1992 18:13:00 -0500
Hi Folks,
Thought I'll provide some info from the July '92 Central Rly. time-table.
New Trains
-----------
1. Nizamuddin - Sambhalpur Tri-weekly Exp.:- Has II class accomodation.
Halts :- Agra Cant, Jhansi, Bina, Katni,.....,Bilaspur,........
Is the only train to ignore Gwalior. No halts between Bina and Katni.
Dep. Nizamuddin 8.45 -> Arr. Sambhalpur 11.45
Arr. " 16.30 <- Dep. " 15.00
2. Kurla (T) - Bangalore Superfast Exp.:- II class.
Dep. Kurla (T) 22.20 -> Arr. B'lore 21.30
Arr. " 7.30 <- Dep. " 9.05
Is faster than the Udyan Exp. by 1 - 1/2 hrs.
Halts:- Kalyan, Pune, Solapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Mantralayam Rd., Adoni,
Guntakal, Gooty, Anantapur, Dharmavaram, Bangalore Cant.
Another disappointment :-( Why can't a true superfast train with limited
halts be introduced on this route? e.g. Bombay, Pune, Solapur, Guntakal
Madras/Bangalore.
3. Bombay - Pune Pragati superfast Exp. :- Has I and II class accomodation.
Dn Dep. Bombay V.T. 16.25 -> Arr. Pune 20.05 No official halts
Up Arr. " 7.30 <- Dep. " 11.05 Halts at Dadar
Dn. train takes 15 mts. more than the Deccan Queen exp.
Up. 10 mts.
Trains from Kurla Terminus
---------------------------
Besides the Bangalore superfast exp., three other trains terminate at
Kurla -> Bhagalpur/Chhapra Exp., Pavan Exp., Howrah Exp. via Nagpur
Changes in Halts
----------------
1. The Bombay - Firozpur Punjab Mail has been speeded up by more than 3 hours
and it no longer halts at Khirkiya, Banapura, Sanchi, Ganj Basoda and
Mandi Bamora. It has acquired vestibuled rakes. It now goes at a booked
speed of 100 kmph. with a max. speed of 110 kmph., between Igatpuri and
New Delhi.
Dep. Bombay V.T. 19.10 -> Arr. N.Delhi 20.20 -> Arr. Firozpur 7.00
Arr. " 8.20 <- Dep. " 7.15 <- Dep. " 21.00
It is an hour FASTER than the GT exp. from Itarsi to New Delhi, inspite
of having four more halts. Wow!!!!
In the other direction (Up), it is 10 mts. FASTER than the GT exp.
The Dn. train overtakes the Jhelum Exp. between Bhusaval and Burhanpur.
I would love to see the Habibganj, Dhaulpur and Faridabad halts being
removed. Hope the experimental halt at Kosi Kalan is a failure.
2. The Panchavati Exp. and the Kurla - Bhagalpur/Chhapra Exp. now halt
at Niphad.
3. The Himsagar Exp. has been speeded up so that it now has the same
time schedule (+ halts) as the Navyug Exp.
4. The Bombay - Aurangabad Exp. has been speeded up and all halts betwee
Kalyan and Kasara removed.
>From the map
------------
1. Itarsi - Allahabad is completely doubled except for the Jukehi-Amdara
(20 km) and Manikpur - Naini (95 km) sections. I wonder when they
would start electrifying this important route.
2. Bina - Katni is doubled all the way.
Regards,
Vijay
From: Dheeraj Sanghi <dheeraj@cs.email
Subject: Some train timings needed.
Date: 01 Oct 1992 13:56:00 -0500
I am going to India in less than 2 week's time on an extremely hectic
trip. I will be taking a few train rides. While I was planning my trip,
I realized that I don't have the latest timetable. So, if you do, please
help me with the following questions.
1. Last train from Bombay to Pune that reaches Pune before 11:30 PM.
2. First train from Bombay to Pune that leaves Bombay after 06:00 AM.
I would like to be at some place in Pune around 10:00 AM, and I was
wondering if I could trust a morning train from Bombay to reach before
that time. Indrayani ??
3. Train from Pune to Bombay in the evening after 6:00 PM.
4. Last train from Delhi to Kanpur.
I am trying to catch the train on the same day as I return from my
"Bharat Darshan" to Delhi. My flight arrives at 6:45 or 07:00 PM.
Is it sane to assume that the flight would be less than 2 hours late
and I can catch the night train to Kanpur.
5. The first train in the morning from Delhi to Kanpur. (The first
train to reach Kanpur.) Shatabdi ??
Thanks,
-dheeraj
From: Ajai Banarji <banarji@unixg.email
Subject:
Date: 02 Oct 1992 16:44:00 -0500
News from here and there
More about the Bangalore Rajdhani. It will start running once a week
from October 2. The route is via Nagpur and Secunderabad. There is not much
improvement in timings, since the reduction with respect to the Karnataka
Express is 2:45 in the southbound direction and 4:15 northbound. The consist
is: 5 AC chair cars, 2 AC sleepers, 1 AC coach, pantry car, 2 power car-cum
brakevans.
Our beloved rail mantri is still in hot water. You know about the
earlier controversy about the purchase of electric locomotives from ABB, a
Swedish firm. Now the railways have been criticised by the Delhi High Court
for another tender relating to about 170 crores worth of bogies. The bogies
here are not coaches, but the structure which holds the wheels for coaches
and some types of wagons.
However, the story is not so simple here. The railways allege that
3 major manufacturers (Mukund, Hindustan Development and Bhartiya Steel)
had formed a cartel to corner the market for bogies by undercutting the
other smaller manufacturers. They had quoted a lower price of Rs 67,000
apiece while others quoted around Rs 77,000.
The railway board claims that they wanted to break the cartel and
thus split the tender among various manufacturers; the big three got the
lower price while the others got the higher price. The big three then went
to court, which ordered the cancellation of the tender and generally accused
the railways (especially the minister) of corruption. The Opposition is, as
one may expect, demanding his resignation.
(Knowing the way that Indian industries operate, it does seem that
the railways had the right intention which has backfired. The court judgement
hinted that railway officials had been bribed by the smaller manufacturers.
Who knows the truth?)
An interesting news from Pakistan is that privatisation of the railways
has started. The busy Lahore-Faisalabad route has been privatised, as a
contractor has been given the responsibility of selling tickets as well as
ticket checking. The sales and checking staff are all contractor's employees
rather than railway employees. The contractor has to pay a fixed fee to the
railways. It is expected that he will make a big profit. Wonder how well this
would work in India.
From: aravind <aravind@vax135.email
Subject: suspension of obscure passenger services?
Date: 04 Oct 1992 20:09:00 -0500
I cannot find any passenger services on the following lines in
the latest (July 92) SR timetable:
BG:
Walajah Road - Ranipet
Salem Jn. - Mettur Dam (this is even shown as electrified!!)
MG:
Mayiladuturai - Tarangambadi (? - quoting from memory)
Peralam - Karaikal (?? - ditto)
Tiruturaipundi - Point Calimere (?? - ditto)
Nidamagalam - Mannargudi
Further, the number of trains on the Villupuram-Pondicherry section
has dwindled to two a day.
Is this part of a broader trend?
Regards,
Aravind
From: Vadivelu Elumalai <vadi@CSI.email
Subject: Re: suspension of obscure passenger services?
Date: 05 Oct 1992 07:51:00 -0500
> I cannot find any passenger services on the following lines in
> the latest (July 92) SR timetable:
>
> BG:
> Walajah Road - Ranipet
The passenger service on this line was suspended long time back and
there used to be some goods traffic. But that is also stopped now. So
Walajah Road can no longer be called as a junction. There was no mention
of this line in the last 12 years of SR timetables.
> Salem Jn. - Mettur Dam (this is even shown as electrified!!)
>
> MG:
> Mayiladuturai - Tarangambadi (? - quoting from memory)
> Peralam - Karaikal (?? - ditto)
> Tiruturaipundi - Point Calimere (?? - ditto)
> Nidamagalam - Mannargudi
Same case as Walajah Road - Ranipet section but the service was
suspended in early 70s.
> Further, the number of trains on the Villupuram-Pondicherry section
> has dwindled to two a day.
Who will take the train when the bus journey takes 60% of the time
and 50% of fare when compared to train journey?
-Vadi
From: Jishnu Mukerji <jis@usl.email
Subject: Electric Locos from ABB?
Date: 06 Oct 1992 18:07:00 -0500
Excerpts from personal.IRFCA: 2-Oct-92 Ajai Banarji@unixg.email (2268*)
> Our beloved rail mantri is still in hot water. You know about the
> earlier controversy about the purchase of electric locomotives from ABB, a
> Swedish firm.
So what was this controversy and which ABB (ASEA Brown Boveri)
locomotives were involved? Did the deal finally fall through?
ABB electric traction equipment seems to be very popular in the west
these days. The Rc4 class electric locomotive and its derivatives (e.g.
Amtrak's AEM-7 and NJT ALP-44) have found their way into several
European and at least a few American railroad's rosters. The X2000 train
set is also in the process of undergoing trial runs in several countries
including the USA on the NorthEast Corridor. Speed-wise ABB is not quite
upto the standards of Alsthom the makers of the TGV or the Siemens etc.
consortium, the makers of the ICE, but they are reputed to be designers
of excellent quality, robust equipment.
Jishnu Mukerji
jis@usl.email
From: Jishnu Mukerji <jis@usl.email
Subject: An memorable journey
Date: 06 Oct 1992 18:52:00 -0500
Folks,
While this is not about a journey on an Indian train, it is a journey
that I found to be an exceptionally exhilerating experience, so I though
I will share it with you. If you are allergic to train journey stories
on non-Indian trains you can skip this message.
The train ride that I refer to is one that I took from Paris to Bordeaux
and back a few months back by a TGV.
First a bit about the lay of the land between Paris and Bordeaux. If you
have a map of France you may find it easier to follow the description
below. The TGV Atlantique trains depart from Paris Montparnasse, and
travel along regular tracks to Vanves-Malkoff, where the high speed TGV
tracks seperate out through a grade separated junction and head off
through Chatillon (where the TGV Atlantique maintenance shop is located)
and then into a long tunnel, to emerge near Massy-Paleseau RER stop.
Massy TGV located here is the first stop on this line, although very few
trains stop here. Then it enters into a 4km long tunnel under most of
the Paris suburbs to emerge in rural country next to the main Autoroute
to the South-West. At Courtelain Jn. (sp?) there is a very high speed
junction where the line splits into one headed towards Le Mans and the
other towards Tours and points south. The TGV track ends at Tours and
connects to the regular main line south to Bordeaux through Poitiers.
The total distance from Paris Montparnasse to Bordeaux is 581km. The
train on which I travelled to Bordeaux was a non-stop run from Paris to
Bordeaux (there 15 such trains every day) and then onto Tarbes. The
scheduled running time from Paris to Bordeaux (for all of the 581kms)
was 2hrs and 56mins - i.e. 176mins.(!!!) which computes out to
198km/hour start to stop!
The train started from Paris right on time and within minutes was past
Vanves and the Chatillon maintenance facilities flashed by and it
entered the first tunnel. When it entered the tunnel it was not going
that fast, may be 160km/h. But in the tunnel it accelarated, and as it
accelarated one could hear this distant whine with a rising pitch as it
gained more speed, until it sounded like a jet engine very far away, and
suddenly it came out of the tunnel.
Boy!! was it relly moving!! Electrification posts were whizzing by so
fast that you could literally not see them. Massy TGV went by in a
flash, and wham we were back in another tunnel. My eardrums felt it
distinctly as we entered the tunnel, and again when we came out of it,
next to the Autoroute. At this point we were running at the booked speed
(which also happens to be the maximum commercial speed) of 300km/h. Cars
doing 160km/h on the autoroute looked like they were crawling along! 56
minutes out of Paris and we were past St.Pierre de Corps (~230km from
Paris), where the TGV line ends. The train slowed down to 225km/h as it
entered the regular mainline through a high speed turnout, and carried
on at that speed for another 30 mins. all the way to Poiters. Here it
slowed down to pass through Poiters station and immediately out of the
station it sped up, and maintained a speed between 160km/h and 200km/h
except for several pieces of slower running due to stations or curves.
Finally, it crossed the bridge across Garone River and arrived at
Bordeaux and exactly 2hrs and 55mins had elapsed since its departure
from Paris (199.2km/h!).
This was without any doubt one of the most exhilerating train ride I
have ever taken. The run was completely business like with no time to
lose anywhere, not an extra bit of slow running is accounted for in the
schedule. Any significant slow running gets reflected as late running,
and yet TGV's have an enviable record of running 98% on schedule on this
route!
While the train was running at 300km/h I decided to get a real life
record of how fast it was running, so, I set the shutter speed on my
camera to 1/120th sec, and took a couple of pictures of electrification
posts flashing by. The result was a smear of the pole across the window
consistent with the .69meters that the train moved forward in 1/120th
sec.
The other amazing thing is that even at 300km/h vibrations and rocking
is almost totally absent. When you place a glass of water in front of
you, you barely see ripples on it, even at full speed. Actually, there
was more lateral accelaration when running on the regular mainline
tracks at a slower speed than at full speed on TGV tracks.
On the whole a remarkable piece of technology. If you ever go to France,
make it a point to take the TGV Atlantique to Tours or Le Mans, both
about 230km from Paris and less than an hours ride on the TGV. You will
not regret it. It is true that you cannot open the windows and stick
your head out, so TGV's are not enjoyable in that sense. But there is a
different feeling of exhileration that at least I get travelling along
at an incredibly high speed on ground and yet so smoothly.
The return trip was on a TGV from Irun (on the Spanish border) to Paris,
with non-stop Bordeaux to Paris. The journey was as uneventful as on
schedule to the dot as all TGV journeys seem to be. It is fascinating to
watch a whole bunch of people get onto the train that is absolutely the
fastest in the world, completely nonchalantly, and get into whatever
they normally do while travelling on a train, and taking no notice of
the incredible speed at which they travel. But that is natural when it
is as commonplace an occurence as it is on the TGV.
Jishnu.
From: Ajai Banarji <banarji@unixg.email
Subject:
Date: 13 Oct 1992 14:38:00 -0500
The Bangalore Rajdhani
Expecting a report from our Bangalore correspondent, but here are some
points of interest.
The consist has 12 coaches. It seems to be different from the other two
Rajdhanis. They started off with 9 coaches and were later augmented to 18
coaches, apparently by coupling two consists together.
Does anyone know about the locomotives used? Clearly there must be
a change to diesel somewhere. Does anyone know if the Kazipet-Secunderabad
section is electrified yet?
We look forward to hearing about Dheeraj's adventures on IR when he returns.
From: VIJAYB <VIJAYB@PK705VMG.EMAIL
Subject: Bangalore Rajdhani!
Date: 14 Oct 1992 09:45:00 -0500
I would assume that the Kazipet - Santnagar electrification project is yet
to be completed, in which case the Rajdhani must be changing locos. (between
elec. and diesel) at Kazipet. Since the New Delhi - Bhopal section is geared
for a maximum speed of 140 kmph. (b'coz of the Shatabdi), the Rajdhani is
probably being hauled by a WAP1/3 between New Delhi and Bhopal at a max. speed
of 130/140 kmph, with a WAM4 doing the honors between Bhopal and Kazipet.
Any idea as to what the halt pattern would be? Let me guess - Jhansi,
Bhopal, Nagpur, Kazipet, Secunderabad and Guntakal. A few more perhaps -
Balharshah, Wadi Chord, and Dharmavaram.
Vijay
From: Jishnu Mukerji <jis@usl.email
Subject: Re: Bangalore Rajdhani!
Date: 14 Oct 1992 10:16:00 -0500
Excerpts from personal.IRFCA: 14-Oct-92 Bangalore Rajdhani!
VIJAYB@PK705VMG.EMAIL (661*)
> the Rajdhani is probably being hauled by a WAP1/3 between New Delhi and
> Bhopal at a max. speed of 130/140 kmph, with a WAM4 doing the honors
> between Bhopal and Kazipet.
Does anyone have the technical specs on the WAP1/3?
What is the primary factor that limits the speed of Shatabdis to
140kmph?Is it tracks/ride quality, traffic mix, capability of the
signalling system, rolling stock capability or locomotive capability?To
put it another way, what needs to change for say, increasing the speed
of the Shatabdis and Rajdhanis to 160kmph.
Just wondering.
BTW, after riding around a bit on European trains I am convinced that
there is no specific need for Air-Conditioning and sealed windows for
speeds upto 160kmph. Many trains with openable windows seem to run at
140kmph, and some at even 160kmph with no problem in Europe. Actually it
is kind of fun!
Jishnu.
From: Ajai Banarji <banarji@unixg.email
Subject:
Date: 15 Oct 1992 14:02:00 -0500
More about the Bangalore Rajdhani
The present route does not seem to conducive for speed. Even if the
Kazipet-Sanatnagar line is now electrified, most of the route beyond
Kazipet is single line (except for a few stretches on the Kazipet-
Secunderabad and perhaps Wadi-Gooty section).
A better alternative might have been one of the earlier routes of
the Karnataka Express, via Vijayawada, Gudur, Renigunta and Jolarpettai.
This would have been electrified all the way and double track most of the
way (except the Gudur-Renigunta and part of the Jolarpettai-Bangalore
sections). But then this would cut out the Secunderabad traffic. I'm
a bit doubtful as to the feasibility of the AC chair car on such a long
route.
The existing route of the Karnataka Express is clearly not too good
for speed, as it includes long stretches of single track as well as
comparatively little electrification. (Remember, this
route is via Itarsi, Manmad, Daund and Guntakal. Moreover, this route
also results in no connection between important cities such as Bangalore
and Nagpur.)
The Secunderabad-Guntakal section is one of the routes planned for
conversion to BG; this will result in improvement of services between
Secunderabad and Guntakal as well as the Rajdhani.
Regarding Jishnu's comments, I read somewhere that the Indian railways
feel that airconditioning is a must on trains running at 140 km/h because
of the dust. (Is there more dust in India than France?) The main constraints
for speed in India are primarily the track condition and curvature. Gradients
are not so relevant when electric traction is used, as it is easy to draw
more power.
Don't forget that the TGV runs on a newly-constructed dedicated track
most of the way. It may be better to contrast the Amtrak Superliners and
the British IC trains with India, as these services manage with the existing
track and infrastructure.
From: Jishnu Mukerji <jis@usl.email
Subject: Re: this and that
Date: 15 Oct 1992 19:41:00 -0500
Excerpts from personal.IRFCA: 15-Oct-92 Ajai Banarji@unixg.email (1900*)
> Don't forget that the TGV runs on a newly-constructed dedicated track
> most of the way. It may be better to contrast the Amtrak Superliners and
> the British IC trains with India, as these services manage with the existing
> track and infrastructure.
That is correct for the portions where the TGV's run on such new track.
But in reality, only about 35% of the total trackage that is covered by
TGV's is newly constructed dedicated tracks. Indeed those are the tracks
where they run at 300kmph. But the rest of the tracks that TGV's run on
are normal French main-lines. Speed on those lines are restricted to
between 160kmph to 220kmph.
Amtrak Superliners are restricted to 126kmph on most tracks because of
US FRA regulations that says that passenger trains are not allowed to
run faster than 79mph on tracks that are not equipped with ATS (i.e.
Automatic Train Stop) equipment. The cars themselves are capable of
160kmph. The only transcontinental that is equipped with ATS equipment
is Santa Fe, and consequently the Southwest Chief regularly runs at
145kmph on its dash to LA. There is a large amount of track in the US at
present that is capable of supporting 140kmph to 160kmph, if they were
equipped with adequate signalling gear. One of the things that FRA is
investigating is the use of a satellite based ATS which does not require
any additional trackside gear (which is very expensive to maintain). It
requires additional equipment and transponder on the locomotives though.
I know that Amtrak is in the process of equipping some of its
locomotives with the satellite system to start testing the system in
real service.
If the British ICs or Amtrak's Metroliners are taken as examples it
seems to me that there is potential for bringing speeds upto ~200kmph in
India with modest additional investment on selected routes. However,
there are a few additional considerations in case of India - the most
obvious being the number of people, animals and other things that find
their way onto the tracks. Crashing into a buffalo at that speed is not
a pretty sight, and could prove to be dangerous to the train under
extreme circumstances. Crashing into a truck at a level crossing is
definitely a no-no at that speed.
So does anybody have the specs on the WAP1/3 handy?
Also, what does one have to do to get a permit to take pictures of
trains on Indian Railways. I know some of us have connections in high
places who can get us off the hook if an overactive Sipahi gets hold of
us. What do the rest of us have to do to avoid such mishaps?
Jishnu.
From: apte <apte@glacier.email
Subject: This and That...
Date: 15 Oct 1992 15:13:00 -0500
On the Bangalore Rajdhani:
I think the idea of having a super-super-fast train between N. Delhi
and the south is good, but putting a whole bunch of A/C Chair Cars on
such a long distance route is dumb. But then the train is a political
pawn anyway - logic is not an acceptable commodity!
On Fast Trains:
Firstly, thanx a lot to Jishnu for the excellent account of the TGV
journey - we were able to vicariously experience a fraction of the
thrill - which is the best we can do until we go ourselves!
> Also, what does one have to do to get a permit to take pictures of
> trains on Indian Railways. I know some of us have connections in high
> places who can get us off the hook if an overactive Sipahi gets hold of
> us. What do the rest of us have to do to avoid such mishaps?
Since the Phoenecians invented money, there really has been only one
answer to that question. :-)
Pushkar
-------
From: VIJAYB <VIJAYB@PK705VMG.EMAIL
Subject:
Date: 19 Oct 1992 17:27:00 -0500
Jishnu writes:
> Does anyone have the technical specs on the WAP1/3?
I believe the WAP1/3 is a 4000 hp. loco. with speed potential of 160 kmph.
The WAP3 has fabricated Mark III type bogies.
>What is the primary factor that limits the speed of Shatabdis to
>140kmph?Is it tracks/ride quality, traffic mix, capability of the
>signalling system, rolling stock capability or locomotive capability?To
>put it another way, what needs to change for say, increasing the speed
>of the Shatabdis and Rajdhanis to 160kmph.
IMHO, track strength and rolling stock capability are the important factors in
restricting the speed. Here is the break-up of the Shatabdi's max. speed in the
Bhopal - New Delhi section:-
Bhopal - Lalitpur 110 kmph.
Lalitpur - Jhansi 120 kmph.
Jhansi - Agra Cant 130 kmph.
Agra Cant - New Delhi 140 kmph.
Thus, the Shatabdi is allowed to travel at 140 kmph. for only 28% of the total
distance between Bhopal and N.Delhi.
Ajai writes:
> More about the Bangalore Rajdhani
> The present route does not seem to conducive for speed. Even if the
>Kazipet-Sanatnagar line is now electrified, most of the route beyond
>Kazipet is single line (except for a few stretches on the Kazipet-
>Secunderabad and perhaps Wadi-Gooty section).
Kazipet - Secunderabad - Vikrabad is a double line and Vikrabad - Wadi is being
doubled.
> A better alternative might have been one of the earlier routes of
>the Karnataka Express, via Vijayawada, Gudur, Renigunta and Jolarpettai.
>This would have been electrified all the way and double track most of the
>way (except the Gudur-Renigunta and part of the Jolarpettai-Bangalore
>sections). But then this would cut out the Secunderabad traffic. I'm
>a bit doubtful as to the feasibility of the AC chair car on such a long
>route.
Another reason for choosing the Kazipet - S'bad - Wadi Chord - Guntakal route
might be to cause less disruption to goods traffic. I am assuming that the
route via Vijayawada - Gudur handles more goods traffic than the former.
AC Chair seats would come in handy for intermediate halts.
Jishnu writes:
>Also, what does one have to do to get a permit to take pictures of
>trains on Indian Railways. I know some of us have connections in high
>places who can get us off the hook if an overactive Sipahi gets hold of
>us. What do the rest of us have to do to avoid such mishaps?
You could contact the Public Relations Officer of the concerned rly. He
would probably ask you to prepare a formal letter requesting permission to take
photos for educational purposes (what else :-) )
Regards,
Vijay
From: aravind <aravind@vax135.email
Subject: ASEA engines ...
Date: 21 Oct 1992 08:19:00 -0500
(culled from misc.news.southasia)
* Asea Brown Boveri urged India not to abandon $190m contract
Asea Brown Boveri, the European engineering combine, yesterday urged
India not to abandon a controversial $190m contract to buy imported
high-tech locomotives. ABB won this contract for the supply of 30
locomotives, after a four and a half year bidding process, in March.
The government is yet to sign the contract. Protests have since surfaced
on the grounds that India does not need expensive imported technology
when it has large railway workshops of its own.
When India decided in the early eighties to replace some of its steam
and diesel-powered locomotives with electric ones, ABB was a front
runner. In 1986 it supplied 18 electric locomotives India imported
on an experimental basis. By the time India considered this bid, it
was able to consider micro-chip controlled locomotives, but one which
were more expensive. The contract includes transfer of technology needed
to produce the engines in Indian
factories.
From: Ajai Banarji <banarji@unixg.email
Subject:
Date: 22 Oct 1992 14:17:00 -0500
Recent railway developments
The Bangalore Rajdhani is not the only recent development. Here are a
few other timetable changes from October 2:
New Valsad-Vadodara inter-city express. Its timings are to suit office-goers
in Vadodara.
Vidarbha Express (Bombay-Nagpur) and Chennai Express (Dadar-Madras) will
now run daily. The Netravati Express, which used to run from VT to Cochin/
Mangalore on 3 days now becomes daily. However the existing Dadar-Cochin/
Mangalore express which was running on 2 days is cancelled.
Saurashtra Janata Express and Bombay-Vadodara passenger given additional
coaches. They will now start from Bandra terminus.
Trivia question of the week: Which is the only passenger train on IR
which has an AC first class coach?
Bonus question: Which is the only narrow gauge train on IR to have an
AC coach?
Finally, an advertisement of the SC Railway mentioned the following
conversion schemes which are nearing completion:
Route Distance (km) Expected completion
Aurangabad-Jalna 65 Dec 92
Parbhani-Parli Vaijnath 64 Jan 93
Bolarum-Secunderabad-
Falaknuma 29 Feb 93
Falaknuma-Mahbubnagar 99 Mar 93
Guntur-Narasaraopet 45 Dec 92
Bellary-Rayadrug 54 Jan 93
It looks that when the railways want to do something in a hurry, they can
do it. Remember that all these schemes started only after the budget this year.
From the above, it looks like Secunderabad will lose its mg services quite
soon. The north-south mg link is about to be broken, unless they plan to have
parallel bg and mg lines on the Purna-Secunderabad-Guntakal section.
From: apte <apte@glacier.email
Subject: Re: trivia questions
Date: 22 Oct 1992 16:57:00 -0500
1. A/C First Class Coach on passenger train -
I believe it is the Viramgam
Passenger between Bombay-Surat-Bombay - many Surat passengers use this
train as a convenient overnight train from Bombay
2. Bonus Question - A/C Coach on NG Train -
Shaky, but is it one of
the Kalka-Simla trains, possibly the Simla Queen?
Pushkar
-------
From: VIJAYB <VIJAYB@PK705VMG.EMAIL
Subject:
Date: 23 Oct 1992 14:01:00 -0500
Hi Folks,
A VERY HAPPY DIWALI TO ALL OF YOU!!!!!!
In response to Ajai's bonus question:-
The only NG train to have an AC coach is the Satpura Exp. between Jabalpur
and Gondia. This has AC chair car service.
> New Valsad-Vadodara inter-city express. Its timings are to suit offic-goers
> in Vadodara.
The train has a lone halt at Surat.
> Vidarbha Express (Bombay-Nagpur) and Chennai Express (Dadar-Madras) wll
>now run daily. The Netravati Express, which used to run from VT to Cochn/
>Mangalore on 3 days now becomes daily. However the existing Dadar-Cochi/
The Vidarbha and Netravati Exps. used to have common arr./dep. times
at Bombay V.T. With this change, all trains leaving Bombay V.T./Dadar
in the evening are daily trains.
Vijay