Overview
- Western Railway confirmed a successful November 14 trial run between Ahmedabad and Mumbai Central at a peak operational speed of 130 km/h, completing the trip in about four hours with intermediate timings at Surat.
- The run used the second 16‑coach rake operated by RDSO on specially modified bogies to validate performance on the corridor.
- COCR trials are slated for November 15 on the Ahmedabad–Vadodara–Mumbai Central section and November 16 in the reverse direction, with teams from Operations, Mechanical, Engineering, Electrical, S&T and Security accompanying RDSO.
- The newly arrived rake was built by BEML using ICF technology and incorporates upgrades over the first rake, including refinements to toilets, berths and interior fixtures.
- The sleeper formation comprises 11 AC‑3 tier, 4 AC‑2 tier and 1 First AC coach with features such as plug doors, HL3 fire compliance and Braille navigation; earlier prototype tests touched around 180–181 km/h, and public service is projected for mid‑2026 pending approvals.