Vande Bharat Freight EMU completes part-loaded Ahmedabad–Mumbai trial
In India, the Vande Bharat Freight EMU completed part-loaded trial runs between Ahmedabad and Mumbai Central on 12–13 September, reaching up to 130 km/h under RDSO supervision.
The rake operated with 50% of its payload and an axle load of 20.32 tonnes. RDSO collected performance and safety data that will inform an assessment of possible future commercial operation.
What the September trials measured
The Research Designs and Standards Organisation conducted confirmatory instrumented trials over the Ahmedabad–Vadodara–Mumbai Central section of Western Railway. Before the runs, the rake was prepared at ICD Sabarmati. An RDSO team instrumented it with support from the mechanical, electrical and signalling departments of Ahmedabad Division.
The rake left Ahmedabad on 12 September and returned from Mumbai Central the next day. Both runs took place in daylight, with permanent and temporary speed restrictions remaining in force.
Why 130 km/h is not the limit of the train
Earlier trials on West Central Railway took the same rake to about 145 km/h in empty condition. Its design speed is about 160 km/h. Separately, Indian Railways reports that it has raised sectional speed to 130 km/h over 599 track km. The total covers parts of the Golden Quadrilateral, the Golden Diagonal and other B routes.
A parcel train, not a bulk train
Western Railway says a future Freight EMU service could provide an express-logistics alternative to road transport for time-sensitive cargo. Potential traffic includes e-commerce consignments, courier packets, electronics, pharmaceuticals and cold-chain products. The 16-coach rake comes from Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. It combines parcel cars with refrigerated vans and features wide automatic doors, roller flooring for pallets, CCTV, fire detection and the Kavach train protection system.
The railway has also been clear about what the rake is not. It is not intended to replace the heavy trains that work the Dedicated Freight Corridors. Those corridors ran an average of 403 trains a day in November 2025. National loading, meanwhile, passed one billion tonnes in 2025–26, against a target of 3,000 million tonnes by 2029–30.
| Indicator | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Freight loading | 1 billion tonnes | FY 2025–26 |
| Reported daily loading peak | 4.4 million tonnes | FY 2025–26 |
| Loading target | 3,000 million tonnes a year | By 2029–30 |
| Traffic on Dedicated Freight Corridors | 403 trains a day on average | November 2025 |
| Track cleared for 130 km/h | 599 track km | 2025 |
The one-billion-tonne loading figure was driven by coal, iron ore, cement and container traffic rather than the smaller, time-sensitive consignments targeted by the parcel rake. Source: Ministry of Railways, 28 December 2025.
An Italian high-speed freight comparison
In April 2018, FS Italiane announced Mercitalia Fast as a high-speed freight service using a specially equipped 12-car ETR 500. The operator planned to carry roll containers between Caserta Marcianise and Bologna Interporto in three hours and 20 minutes, corresponding to a stated average speed of 180 km/h. It put capacity at the equivalent of 18 lorries and targeted express couriers, logistics operators and other customers moving time-sensitive goods.
| Item | Vande Bharat Freight EMU (India) | Mercitalia Fast (Italy) |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle | Purpose-built 16-coach rake from Integral Coach Factory | Specially equipped 12-car ETR 500 |
| Speed | Tested at up to 130 km/h; design speed about 160 km/h | Planned average speed of 180 km/h |
| Route | Test runs between Ahmedabad and Mumbai Central | Caserta Marcianise–Bologna Interporto |
| Load unit | Pallets on roller flooring, plus refrigerated vans | Roll containers, with capacity the operator equated to 18 lorries |
| Status | Under test; no commercial launch date, service route or tariff announced | Announced in April 2018 for start in October 2018 |
Indian figures are those reported for the September test programme; Italian figures come from the FS Italiane announcement of Mercitalia Fast. Source: FS Italiane, 6 April 2018.
What still has to happen
Indian Railways has not announced a commercial launch date, route, frequency or tariff. RDSO must first assess the performance and safety data collected during the trials. The results will be used to evaluate the possibility of future commercial operation. Until then, the Freight EMU remains a test vehicle rather than a service that shippers can book.
