India to get first tilting trains by 2025-26; 100 ‘Vande Bharat’ trains to use this technology: Rlys

New Delhi: India will get its first tilting trains by 2025-26 with 100 Vande Bharat trains being manufactured using this technology which enables trains to maneuver curves at higher speeds, just as a motorbike on a winding road, a senior official said on Friday.

He said 100 of the 400 Vande Bharat trains to be manufactured by 2025 will have this technology. ”We will have tilting trains in the country. We will tie up with a technology partner for this. We will have this technology in 100 Vande Bharat trains over the next two to three years,” the official noted.

Tilting trains have a mechanism enabling higher speed on regular broad-gauge tracks. They tilt while negotiating a bend or curve on the track. Such trains are now operational in 11 countries — Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, the UK, Switzerland, China, Germany, and Romania.

Explaining how such trains work, an official said as a train rounds a curve at speed, it causes objects to slide about. While it makes the seated passengers feel squashed by the armrest, standing passengers tend to lose their balance. ”The design of the tilting trains counteract this,” he said.

The Indian Railways has explored various options in the past regarding such trains, but has never finalised any detail. It also had discussions with Spanish manufacturer Talgo as well as the Switzerland government.