Mathura: Talgo has become the fastest train in the country by clocking a speed of 180 km/hr by covering 84 km in 38 minutes in a trial conducted by Railways on Mathura-Palwal route, surpassing the record of Gatimaan Express.

The successful trial, supervised by engineers from the Spanish firm, Talgo, and Research Design & Standards Organisation, Lucknow, was conducted with nine empty coaches hauled by a Varanasi-made 4,500-HP diesel engine.

Sandbags will be placed on seats to simulate passenger weight in the next trial to be conducted between Mumbai and New Delhi. It will aim at a top speed of 220kmph, Dilip Kumar Singh, additional divisional railway manager of Agra, said.

Facts about Spain’s luxurious Talgo trains:-

Talgo is one of the leading companies in the Spanish railway sector. It started out in May 1941, and has now has businesses almost all around the world.

-Its lighter trains can cut travel time by 30%.

-Talgo train coaches would save up to Rs 1 crore as compared to the LHB coaches used in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains.

-Unlike that for Japanese bullet trains, no major overhauling of tracks is said to be required for running Talgo trains in India.

-Amenities like footrests, reading lights, tables, audio entertainment control, etc. are provided for every individual seat. The trains also come with monitors for video entertainment.

-Talgo trains have the technology to keep interiors pleasant even when the temperature outside crosses 50 degree Celsius or drops below -20 degree Celsius.

-Talgo trains can also reduce Railways’ energy bill by 30%.

-Talgo 250 was the first high speed train to run in Central Asia. In Uzbekistan, it runs on a daily basis.

-On Wednesday, the train successfully completed its trial run by clocking 180 km/hr due to its light and advanced technology.

-The second phase of the trial run had resumed on July 9.

-On the first day of the trial between Mathura and Palwal, the train had clocked 120 km/hr.

-After the first trial, it was decided that its speed would be increased by 10 km/hr everyday.

-Enthused by the successful trail runs, the speed of the train was increased to 170 km/hr on Tuesday.

-The next trial run will be carried out by keeping sand bags to mimic passengers’ weight to check the train’s condition on turns.

-The next trial will be carried out on the route of Mumbai-bound Rajdhani Express from Mathura.

-Talgo aims to connect the national capital, New Delhi, with the financial capital, Mumbai.

-The maximum speed of Gatimaan Express is 160 km/hr, Shatabdi Express 150 km/hr and Rajdhani Express is 130 km/hr.