New Delhi, December 27: Train 18, India’s first engine-less semi-high-speed train, officially became the fastest train in the country by running at 180Km/h  during its trial run. According to a tweet by Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, the train was seen cruising at a sustained 180Km/h, making it the fastest train amongst others. “Need for Speed: Train 18 seen cruising at a sustained 180Km/h, officially becoming the fastest train in India,” Goyal tweeted on Wednesday.

Train 18 was rolled out in November by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai and is aimed to replace the Shatabdi Express for inter-city travel. The swanky 16-coach train is believed to cut journey time by 15 per cent compared to the 30-year old Shatabdi. Reports inform that the Shatabdi trains were introduced in 1988 and is presently running on over 20 routes connecting metros with other important cities. 'Train 18', India's 1st Engine-Less Train, Breaches 180 km/hr in Fresh Trials.

Take a look at Piyush Goyal's tweet:

The engine-less train, built at a cost of Rs 100 crore in 18 months by Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF), was flagged off at the ICF premises by Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani on October 29. Train 18 is the first long-distance train that is without a separate locomotive (engine). During the flagging off ceremony, Lohani had said that the fully air-conditioned train which is driven by a self-propulsion module, has the potential to become the country's fastest train. According to reports, five more units of the train would be produced by the ICF by the end of 2019-20 production year. 10 Things to Know About The First Engine-Less Train in India.

Train 18 also boasts of Wi-Fi functionality and infotainment. The train has a potential to travel up to the speed at 160 kmph as against 130 kmph of Shatabdi. The features of the train include automatic doors, vacuum toilets and continuous windows. It comes with a GPS-based Passenger Information System while footsteps of the coach's doorway slide outward when the train halts at a station.

After Train 18, the Indian Railways is believed to focus on another project-Train 20-the next generation aluminium-bodied sleeper class trains that will replace the Rajdhani Express trains on the network and is expected to be rolled out by 2020.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 27, 2018 12:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).