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The jerk in the ride

Jerks have everything to do with acceleration or deceleration and Newtonian inertia

Trains
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FORCE AT A DISTANCE When the locomotive’s motion changes that is transmitted to coaches and the farther a coach is from the locomotive, the greater will be the jerk. Photo: iSTOCK

Bibek Debroy
I recently travelled on two trains — (a) 22418/22417, Mahmana Express, New Delhi to Varanasi and back; and (b) 12314/12313 Rajdhani Express, New Delhi to Sealdah and back. Both are good trains. Hence, both have relatively smooth rides. However, the ride on Mahamana Express was smoother than on Rajdhani Express and this wasn’t subjective assessment. This sounds contrary to a priori expectations. Surely, Rajdhani is a better train. Since others might have had similar experiences, here are speculative thoughts on what is a complicated outcome. Perhaps, routes and, therefore, tracks were different.  Let’s stick to common terrain between the two
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