India’s 14th Vande Bharat Express clocked the speed of 130 kmph during its inaugural run on Saturday. The new blue and white colour train introduced on Chennai-Coimbatore route has touched maximum permitted speed between Chennai and Jolarpettai section.

Chennai-Jolarpettai section:-

The authorized highest permitted speed is 130 kmph on Chennai-Jolarpettai section of the Southern Railway (SR). The zonal railway has made remarkable efforts towards speeding up important trains across its vast network.

Also Read: Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express ticket booking commences – Check fare, timings, stoppages and other details

Significance:-

This move has greatly benefited the passengers travelling between these two cities as the new semi-high speed train service is taking only 5 hours and 50 minutes to reach the destination and thus saving one hour and 20 minutes of journey time.

Chennai-Bangalore Shatabdi Express:-

The move of the zonal railway will also prove to be beneficial for the people travelling in Chennai – Bangalore Shatabdi Express. It will also witness considerable reduction in journey time from June o­nwards.

44 trains speeded up in FY 2022-23:-

In the FY 2022-23, the Southern Railway has made efforts to speeded up nearly 44 train services to ease the travel time for passengers. This speed increase will also improve the overall efficiency of the zone besides giving a fillip to freight operations. 

In the last fiscal, the zonal railway has successfully completed the speed enhancement works in the route spanning 2,037 km. The speed has also been enhanced in the loop lines of various sections for an aggregate length of 1,445 Route kms across the zone.

Also Read: Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express to commence commercial operation today – Know timings, stoppages, frequency and other details

Sections on which speed increased to 130 kmph:-

The Southern Railway has made progress to enhance the maximum speed to 130 kmph from 110 kmph on following sections –

  • Chennai – Renigunta section spanning 134.3 Route Kms has now been authorised for speed increase from the existing 110 kmph to 130 kmph since 29th March 2023.
  • Arakkonam – Jolarpettai section (144.54 Km) has been authorised for increasing maximum permissible speed to 130 kmph from 110 kmph from 31st March 2023.
  • Chennai – Gudur section became the first section in Southern Railway to be authorised for increasing maximum permissible speed to 130 kmph from 110 kmph from October 2022.