Soon Swiss-like tilt-trains to hit tracks in India

Indian Railways on Thursday signed two Memorandum of Understanding with Switzerland to study and develop trains that will tilt while approaching on bends with precision.

The MoU is a follow up on bilateral cooperation in rail sector discussed in the meeting held between railway minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu and the Swiss ambassador in July 2016.

Such trains are now operational in 11 countries Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, the UK, Switzerland, China, Germany and Romania. Explaining how the tilting trains work, officials said that as a train rounds a curve at speed it cause objects to slide about.

"While it makes seated passengers feel squashed by the armrest, standing passengers tend to lose their balance. The design of the tilting trains counteract this," an official said.

During a curve to the left, the train tilts to the left and vice versa, the official said.

The MoU aims at cooperation in the areas of traction rolling stock, electric multiple unit and train sets, traction propulsion equipments, freight and passenger cars, tilting trains, railway electrification equipments, tunnelling technology among other things.

The second MoU was signed between Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology which will help the former in establishing the George Fernandes Institute of Tunnel Technology (GFITT) at Goa especially for assimilation and dissemination of knowledge in the field of tunnelling, the officials said.

PTI