Tilting train

 About:

What is it?

• It is a technology that enables trains to maneuver curves at increased speed, that too on regular tracks, just like a motorcycle on a winding road.
  • Vande Bharat trains, manufactured in India, will be equipped with the technology by 2025 that will improve their speed.
• Such trains are now operational in 11 countries - Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, the UK, Switzerland, China, Germany and Romania.

How does a tilting train work?

• When a train rounds a curve at speed, objects (and people) inside experience centrifugal force, which pushes them outwards.
• The effect can cause luggage inside to slide, seated passengers to feel squashed and standing passengers to lose balance. These trains are designed to counteract the effect by tilting the carriages towards the inside of the curve, thus compensating the g-force.
• There can be various mechanisms to neutralise the tilt force and achieve a balance. It further explains how motion sickness can be essentially eliminated by adjusting the timing of when the cars tilt.