Forget Bullet train! Rajdhani, Gatiman, Shatabdi Express will talk to the wind, soon; Here's how

Good news for Indian Railways passengers! Your Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Gatimaan Express travel experiences are set for a massive change. In fact, your train will soon be talking to the wind! Yes, these premium trains will soon be running faster than before courtesy this special, first of its kind, engine. 

To increase speeds of these trains, the Chittaranjan Locomotive Works of the Indian Railways has produced an engine which can zoom at the speed of 200 kilometre per hour.  The locomotive is the first such engine with aerodynamic and ergonomic design and can run at a speed of 200 kmph. Indian Railways will be using this engine to haul all premium trains.  

"Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) has turned out the first aerodynamically designed high-speed WAP-5 passenger electric locomotive on October 24. The engine's design reduces air drag to provide higher speed and more energy efficiency," said the CLW.

पश्चिम बंगाल में रेलवे के चितरंजन लोकोमोटिव वर्क्स ने एयरो डायनामिक डिज़ायन के साथ पहला इंजन तैयार किया है जो 200 कि.मी प्रति घंटा की रफ्तार से राजधानी, शताब्दी और गतिमान जैसी रेलगाड़ियों को चला सकता है। pic.twitter.com/iYktKL5fwK

— Piyush Goyal Office (@PiyushGoyalOffc) October 26, 2018

The CLW also said that the new locomotive is dynamically stable for high-speed operation.

"The locomotive features an ergonomically re-modified driver desk to provide better facilities to the loco pilots. The CLW has modified the gear arrangements for hauling the locomotive at the top speed of 200 kmph," it said.

Adding another modern feature to this, the CLW has provided the locomotive with Crew Voice and Video Recording  System (CVVRS) for Onboard Driving data Recording and Analysi.

"Cameras with microphones are provided at the critical positions inside & outside the locomotive to record the voice and audio signals for post-event analysis with storing the data into digital format," it said.

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At present, the Rajdhani Express has a WAP 7 locomotive with a top speed of 130 kmph while the Shatabdi Express is being hauled by either WAP 4 or WAP 7 engine with a speed of 130 to 140 kmph. On the other hand, the recently introduced and India's first semi-high speed train Gatimaan Express is being hauled by the old design WAP 5 engine which had helped the express to achieve a record speed of 160 kmph.