Chennai: The country`s second Duronto
Express (DE) a non-stop point service between Chennai Central
and Delhi, covering 2,177 kms, was launched here on Monday by the
Southern Railway.
To cover the entire distance the train takes even less
time than the famed Rajdhani Express - 27 hours and 55 minutes
compared to 28 hours and 10 minutes.
The coaches in DE are fit for a speed of 130 kmph against
110 kmph for conventional mail and express trains.
"As and when the Chennai-New Delhi track gets upgraded,the
speed of DE will also be increased, further saving the journey
time by about two hours", Southern Railway General Manager M S
Jayanth said during the flagging off ceremony of the `Chennai
Central-Hazrat Nizamuddin` DE at the Central Railway station.
Dwelling on its unique features, not available now in
conventional trains, he said the body shells of coaches are
made of stainless steel, resulting in a tare weight reduction
of two tonnes, enabling higher speeds up to 130 kmph.
This also reduces corrosion repairs and maintenance costs.
"The exterior of the coach has been provided with high quality
vinyl wrap with an artistic design, which has been designed by
the Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee herself", he added.
Jayanth said the DE coaches are two meters longer than
conventional coaches, resulting in increased seating capacity.
The AC 3-tier has 13 percent additional seating capacity, AC
2-tier cum AC 3-tier 14 percent and sleeper class 8.3 percent, he said.
"All coaches have been provided with auto closing
vestibule doors", he said, adding that these would shut
automatically in the event of a fire and prevent the flames
from spreading to adjacent coaches.
Another unique feature was better sound insulation, to
cut down on noise levels. "Air springs have been used instead
of coil springs to enable better ride quality", he added.
Jayanth also claimed that the fares of the DE, a
weekly train, are lower than that of the Rajdhani.
The country`s first DE train was flagged off by the
Railway msinister on September 18 between Sealdah-Delhi.
Bureau Report
