A very good step. At least beginning has been made to speed up the Mum-Pune route with one of the straight section (just 13km long between Karjat and Neral stations) of curves & EMU ridden Mum/Kalyan-Pune section. The speed shall be 120kmph on the route against earlier 100/110. In fact all the straighter sections of the route should be made 130 kmph.
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Conversion of electrification from dc to ac has been a boon to CR/IR by way of reduction in journey time, use of speedier and more powerful ac locos, elimination...
more... of traction change (at Pune) in future when CSTM-MAS is electrified. As a result, an appreciable reduction in the timings of express trains to clear Mum-Pune stretch have been achieved in last few years.
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The present step is a nice beginning towards further reduction in journey time on Mumbai & Pune high traffic route in future. Vast portion of Mumbai-Pune traffic is presently on road due to shorter distance and comparable/ lesser timing & more convenience of pickup and drop points. If IR can reduce the Mum-Pune distance substantially, IR could attract the traffic from road.
Steps to achieve higher speed, lesser journey time, and to attract a huge quantum of traffic from buses or taxi/private vehicles:
(1) Dc to ac conversion- done and benefits reaped
(2) Speeding up from 100/110kmph to 120/130 kmph-steps initiated
(3) Straightening of the curves & flattening of gradients through construction of straighter, flatter and much shorter path bye pass line (fit for 160+ kmph train) across the ghat & other curvy sections.
(4) Upgrading the remaining part from 130kmph to 160+ kmph so that a non stop CSTM-PUNE train may take around 1:30 hrs.