Indian Railways rolls out 200 kmph engine, set to add wings to Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Gatiman Express

Indian Railways has today put in use the first prototype of the newly designed engine which has a top speed of 200 kmph. The engine has been built by the Chittaranjan Locomotive Workshop. The Ghaziabad Workshop of the Northern Railway has received the first engine and it will used to haul the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Gatiman Express after all the trials have been conducted on the engine..

The CLW said to ZeeBiz.com that the engine will be tested for around 6 to 12 months. The final production call will only be taken based on the feedback. The locomotive is a modified version of WAP 5-class engine. The CLW has made 4 major changes in the locomotive to give it a top speed of 200 kmph.

The engine features an aerodynamic design to reduce drag. It is more energy efficient, dynamically stable for high-speed operation and has an ergonomically re-modified driver desk for improving the conditions of the loco pilots. The engine has modified gear arrangements. 

There is a special kind of torch on both sides to give the passing signal. The driver can give the signal just by pressing the button provided inside. This eliminates the need for the driver to give the signal using the flags.