Archive · 14 Aug 2026
India's first Vande Bharat freight train trials at 130 kmph
The Vande Bharat is a famous fast passenger train in India.
Now, railway engineers have built a freight version of it.
This is the first Vande Bharat freight train in India.
It has 16 coaches and is designed to carry parcels and other goods.
During a recent test, the train reached a speed of 130 kilometres per hour.
The test happened on the Kota–Rolkhurd section of the West Central Railway.
Experts from RDSO and ICF watched the train to make sure everything worked.
They checked the engines, brakes, and how the train saves energy when it slows down.
The train can recover some electrical energy while braking, just like a reusable battery.
India's first Vande Bharat freight train, a 16-coach Freight EMU, underwent a trial run at 130 kmph.
The trial took place on the Kota–Rolkhurd section of West Central Railway (WCR) as part of technical testing.
Officials tested electrical and propulsion systems, including regenerative energy, thermal capacity, traction, braking performance, and jerk levels under loaded conditions.
Technical teams from the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and Integral Coach Factory (ICF) were present during the trial.
The regenerative energy test checked the train's ability to recover electrical energy while braking, and the thermal capacity test assessed system performance at high speeds.
- Who
- Indian Railways officials, including Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Saurabh Jain of Kota Division, and technical teams from RDSO and ICF.
- What
- India's first Vande Bharat freight train, a 16-coach Freight EMU, underwent a trial run at 130 kmph to test its electrical and propulsion systems.
- When
- Not specified in the article.
- Where
- On the Kota–Rolkhurd section of West Central Railway in India.
- Why
- To test the train's regenerative energy, thermal capacity, traction, braking performance, and jerk levels under loaded conditions as part of technical testing.
- Train
- India's first Vande Bharat freight train (16-coach Freight EMU)
- Trial speed
- 130 kmph
- Test section
- Kota–Rolkhurd section, West Central Railway
- Systems tested
- Electrical and propulsion systems
- Tests performed
- Regenerative energy, thermal capacity, traction, braking performance, jerk levels under loaded conditions
- Design basis
- Vande Bharat series
- Purpose
- Transporting parcels and other goods at high speed
- Agencies involved
- RDSO and ICF