Title - Talgo test runs were Illegal, says CRS

You may find it as a strange war of words between Railway and the Commissioner Railway safety (CRS) but it is real.

Indian railway had conducted successful trial runs of Talgo between Delhi and Mumbai in laden and unladen condition. The trial run showed that journey between Delhi and Mumbai can be cut down by a significant four hrs as Talgo completed the total journey in just under 12 hrs (11 hrs 50 minutes precisely).

Rajdhani Express completes the journey in 16 hrs as it cannot attain top speeds as compared to Talgo. Also Talgo being lighter can manage good composure at turns where it can de-accelerate late and accelerate fast than compared to coaches used in Rajdhani Express.

All this trial work CRS says were ‘illegal’. The whole trial was illegal as stated by CRS now. The body says that Railway must seek permission and clearances from CRS before conducting any such trials as a part of standard procedure which had been done during the trial run of Talgo.

However railway says that since the trial run of Talgo did not involve passengers therefore Railway never sought any clearance from CRS. Also in near future whether any permission will be sought from CRS from such trials it is yet to be decided.