The two new Vande Bharat Express trains flagged off by PM Modi on Friday became the first trains in the Indian Railways' history to ascend the two steep Ghats or mountainous sections near Mumbai without using additional locomotives.
Both the Sahyadri Ghats, with a gradient of 1:37 (for every 37-metre run there is a rise of one metre), are among the steepest and the toughest in the county.
Vande Bharat trains will not use the extra locomotive called to push it from the rear. Instead, these medium-high speed trains will use parking brake technology.