Self-propelled train on heritage Kalka-Shimla track after trial

Sameer Singh

Shimla, December 20

The Northern Railway today successfully conducted the trial of the self-propelled Diesel Hydraulic Multiple Unit (DHMU) train on the heritage Kalka-Shimla track. Earlier, three trials had failed due to technical snags. Once introduced, the new train is expected to reduce the travel time between Kalka and Shimla.

No separate engine

• The self-propelled train does not have a separate engine
• The engines of the train are inside the coaches
• The train’s weight is sustained by a hydraulic fluid

Senior officials of the Ambala division of the Northern Railway said in wake of ongoing tourist season, they were making efforts to run the train as soon as possible, but there were still a few phases of trials pending. The train started from the Kalka station at 8.05 am and reached the Shimla station at 1.05 pm. Talking to The Tribune, Mandeep Singh Bhatia, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Ambala division, said, “The trials for the Kalka-Shimla track have been successful now. In the next phase, the Research Design and Standards Organisation will conduct oscillation trials to check the full-load capacity. So weight of 61 passengers (capacity of the three coaches of the train) would be used to conduct the trial to see if the engine can run without any glitches. If it is successful, then we can start the train for passengers.”

While meandering through the serpentine hill track, the train usually takes more than six hours to travel 96 km from Kalka to Shimla. After the introduction of the new technology, the travel time is likely to come down to around four hours.

Later, the speed of the train would be increased gradually. The trial from Kalka to Dharampur was conducted on December 18, the trial from Dharampur to Solan was conducted on December 19 and the final complete trial between Kalka to Shimla was conducted on December 20.

A team of engineers from Bengaluru, who were aboard the train during the trials, are preparing a report on it. Besides air-conditioning and Wi-Fi, the three interconnected coaches of the train have comfortable seats like the Shatabdi Express.

Earlier, the self-propelled hydraulic train failed at trials as its engine couldn’t take the load on the track between Dharampur and Solan. In November, in another trial between these two stations, the train made a successful run. And now in a complete trial run from Kalka to Shimla, the train reached the Shimla station without developing any snag on the way.