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| Second Duronto express launched; Chennai-Delhi trip in 27 hrs |
| Press Trust of India / Chennai Sep 21, 2009, 16:35 IST |
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The country's second Duronto Express (DE), a non-stop point service between Chennai Central and Delhi, covering 2,177 kms, was launched here today 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 per cent additional seating capacity, AC 2-tier cum AC 3-tier 14 per cent and sleeper class 8.3 per cent, 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 minister on September 18 between Sealdah-Delhi.
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