Caterpillar Train is a reality?

Dangaal is not the only reason why Harayana is in the limelight.

The state has taken the lead to set up a pilot corridor for the "Caterpillar Train", a new concept for urban mass-transit solution designed by an Indian Railway officer which won a global award at the MIT in the United States earlier this year.

This train has been invented by two PhD scholars at MIT - Ashwani Upadhyaya (43), a railway officer, long with Emil Jacob. C-Train, envisages a citywide network of lightweight, elevated train coaches running at about 100 kmph on a track supported by poles bent into arches.

Instead of large coaches, the C-Train envisages a series of small, seating-only cars that would be “as high as an SUV” and capable of accommodating 20 passengers at a time. The coaches would have wheels both below and on top, so they can travel on the track and under it — giving it the appearance of a caterpillar.

Unlike the conventional metro system, which relies on heavy pillars and corridors, the C-Train would run on poles joined together to form an arch. The system would run on electricity, with each car equipped with a battery in case of emergencies. The traction mechanism is such that both acceleration and deceleration are fast. Since coaches are smaller and lightweight and the poles require little land, the system is capable of penetrating residential areas, Upadhyaya said. Plus, it should cost a fifteenth of a conventional metro system.

Sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie and Gurgaon will be the lucky one to have this novel Indian-born invention taking off from its state. Kudos to that and hope we have such inventions in India itself!