Busiest routes' travel times may be cut by increasing the top speed of trains: Railways
New Delhi: Indian Railways will shorten the travel time between New Delhi- Kolkata and New Delhi- Mumbai by increasing the highest speed of trains to 160 kmph, sources said. The plan will be executed under the government's ambitious project 'Mission Raftar', which aims to reduce travel time along busy stretches by running passenger trains at a speed of 160 kmph.
According to the ministry sources, raising of 'Sectional Speed' to 160 kmph is proposed on New Delhi-Mumbai Route (incl. Vadodara - Ahmedabad) and New Delhi - Howrah Route (incl. Kanpur-Lucknow) to reduce the travel time. These projects along with other ongoing debottlenecking works such as bypasses, rail flyovers, 3rd or 4th line and other initiatives- right powering of trains, replacement of conventional loco haul trains by MEMU, installation of twin brake system in freight stocks will lead to doubling of the average speed of freight trains and increase in the average speed of coaching trains by about 60 per cent as envisaged in 'Mission Raftaar' initiative.
It is expected that the move by the rail ministry will also reduce the travel time of both the freight trains and passenger trains by atleast two hours.
Currently, the Rajdhani Express is the fastest train between the proposed routes. It takes almost 15- 18 hours to complete the journey. The scope of the projects entails works such as through fencing, insertion of thick web switches, deep screening or lifting of the track, renewal of channel sleepers on bridges, realignment of curves, bridge rehabilitation, Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system i.e advanced and modern signalling systems like KAVACH, LTE, Mobile Train Radio Communication (MTRC), Automated and mechanized diagnostic systems, Provision of Aerial Earth Conductor (AEC) and Buried Earth Conductor (BEC), New Traction Substations suitable for 2x25 kV traction system along with Sectioning Posts and Sub-Sectioning Posts, Erection of 3-phase Transmission Line, Feeder wire work on a separate mast for UP and DN lines separately and Modification of ATD (Auto-Tensioning Device) for 2400 kgf tension etc. which will considerably enhance safety and reliability.
The highest speed on New Delhi- Howrah route was raised to 130 kmph in July 2020. Both New Delhi-Mumbai and New Delhi-Howrah routes are one of the busiest routes. The New Delhi-Mumbai route connects the national capital New Delhi and the capital of Maharashtra state – Mumbai and several big cities en route such as Mathura, Kota, Nagda, Ratlam, Vadodara and Surat. The New Delhi-Howrah route connects the national capital New Delhi and the capital of West Bengal state – Kolkata and several big cities en route such as Aligarh, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Deen Dayal Upadhayaya Jn, Dhanbad and Asansol. There is heavy travel demand for all categories of trains across all service categories including premium segments. These corridors are part of Golden Quadrilateral and Diagonals (GQ-GD) of Indian Railways (IR) – A network of six routes which consist of 16 per cent of the total rail network, yet carry 52 per cent of total passenger traffic and 58 per cent of total freight traffic carried by the Indian Railways.
The travel time taken by Rajdhani between New Delhi and Mumbai will also be reduced by over an hour, officials said. At least 35 per cent of the work to achieve this goal has already been completed, they said. The mechanical wing of the railways will be setting up coach depots for maintenance work at Howrah, New Delhi and Mumbai for the 160 kmph project, the officials said.
The project on New Delhi-Mumbai Route (incl.Vadodara - Ahmedabad) costs Rs 6806.44 crore and New Delhi - Howrah Route (incl. Kanpur-Lucknow) costs Rs 6684.81 crore respectively.
"The scope of work is being executed by Zonal Railways. Presently, works of improvement to track, through fencing, Over Head Equipment (OHE) modification, Automatic Train Protection (Kavach) etc are in various stages of progress. Completion of works is targeted by 2024-25," an official confirmed.
