It's official! Train 18 becomes the fastest train in India, runs at 180 kilometres per hour

New Delhi: India's first engine-less semi-high speed train – Train 18 – has officially become the fastest train in India, cruising at speed of 180 kilometres per hour during a trial run.

This was confirmed by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. He tweeted:

Need for Speed: Train 18 seen cruising at a sustained 180Km/h, officially becoming the fastest train in India pic.twitter.com/2VNF1U3qrl

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) December 26, 2018

Earlier sources told news Agency PTI that the train will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 29 from his constituency Varanasi.

The train will start from New Delhi station at 6 am and is expected to reach Varanasi at 2 pm. For the return journey, the train will start at 2.30 pm from Varanasi and reach the national capital at 10.30 pm on the same day.

Fare

Sources had earlier told Zee Media that T18 may have TEJAS train like fare structure. It may not have the Flexi Fare mechanism will not be applicable on T18.

Sources also added that the T18 fares will be 20-25 percent higher than fares of Shatabdi. Passengers will be given two options for fares –one with meal and one without meal.

Facility and key features of Train 18

The fully air-conditioned train will have 16 chair-car type coaches out of which two will be executive chair cars and 14 non-executive chair cars. The executive chair can seat 56 passengers, while the non executive chairs will be able to accommodate 78 passengers.

The train with a Swanky interior and world-class facility boasts a host of passenger friendly amenities which include inter-connected fully sealed gangways, automatic doors with retractable footsteps, onboard Wi-Fi and infotainment, GPS-based passenger information system, modular toilets with bio-vacuum systems, halogen free rubber-on-rubber flooring, rotational seats which can be aligned in the direction of travel (available only in the executive class), roller blinds and diffused LED lighting, and disabled-friendly toilets.

With PTI Inputs