Indian Railways can rake in some profits from Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Expresses with the existing fare structure by running Talgo's lightweight aluminium-alloy coaches on lease, thinks the passenger train-maker from Spain. This will help the country's next eco-growth engine to save considerable amount of money.

The Talgo train clocked an average speed of 105 km/hour in its last trial on the Delhi-Mumbai route despite 66 restrictions than the Rajdhani Express running at 85 km/hour with LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) coaches. Talgo was found to be covering the distance hours ahead of Rajdhani. The train attributes its speed much to its lightness and aluminium alloy construct which offers operators minimum energy consumption rates.

As part of a market-making exercise, Talgo recently proposed to offer up to four aluminium trains on lease for a maximum of 10 years. The rental will be inclusive of the maintenance cost.

According to Talgo Area Director (Asia-Pacific), Subrat Nath, the profits will be accrued on 30 per cent lower fuel cost in pulling the Talgo coaches compared with conventional heavier coaches, and reduced maintenance cost due to fewer numbers of wheels.

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To carry 1,000 passengers, the Shatabdi Express requires 20 LHB (conventional) coaches with a total of 160 wheels. Talgo, on the other hand, will require 28 coaches with only 58 wheels, which means faster speed and lesser fuel consumption.