January 13, 2019:
The 508.17-km-long bullet train corridor, 155.76 km will be in Maharashtra, 348.04 km in Gujarat & 4.3 km in Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
India’s first super-fast bullet train, which will connect Mumbai & Ahmedabad, will consume 40% more electricity than what the entire Delhi Metro network requires, according to an estimate by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is executing the project.
NHSRCL said the project, once operational, will require 1,100 million units of electricity per year to power the train & the stations it will stop at. In comparison, Delhi Metro, which runs on eight lines spanning 350 kilometres serving 236 stations & connects the capital with satellite towns like Gurugram & Noida, consumes 850 million units per annum.
Officials said this difference in consumption is because bullet trains need to attain a certain speed — much higher than what a metro train is capable of — & because metro trains deploy regenerative braking, a technology that recovers some energy while stopping & converts it back into usable electricity.
According to NHSRCL, approximately 350 kilometres of transmission lines & high voltage cabling would be constructed in Gujarat & Maharashtra for the bullet train, for which the foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi & his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in September 2017.
The introduction of the country’s first bullet train, known as the Shinkansen in Japan & expected to be operational in 2022, will mark India’s shift to an era of high-speed trains capable of hitting speeds of up to 350 kilometres per hour. Train 18, which will connect New Delhi & Varanasi, hit a top speed of 180 kilometres per hour during a test run in December, & is billed as India’s fastest train.
NHSRCL has already tied up with power generating companies, which will supply the 1,100 million required per year to power the inaugural bullet train.
Power requirement will grow as the number of train services increases in 2033, 2043 & 2053.
According to NHSRCL, traction power requirements are assessed by electrical works contractors that carry out power system simulation studies. The maximum projected train traffic & time table is simulated using software & the electric power requirement at each power substation, location & spacing of substations is assessed.
As part of a green energy initiative, the Mumbai–Ahmedabad bullet train corridor will tap solar energy at the rolling stock depots in Sabarmati & Thane, the High-Speed Rail Training Institute in Vadodara, &Sabarmati HSR Complex..
Of the 508.17-km-long bullet train corridor, 155.76 km will be in Maharashtra, 348.04 km in Gujarat & 4.3 km in Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
The Narendra Modi government has set the ambitious deadline of completing the project by August 15, 2022, when India marks 75 years of Independence.
Land acquisition process for ambitious bullet train project might be going at a slow pace but the National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL), which is executing the project between Mumbai & Ahmadabad, has finalised the electricity requirement for the project. Source Link
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