As a significant development for the Indian Railways (IR), the Ministry of Railways has introduced 50 Vande Bharat trains on the railway network as of July 21, 2023, bringing speed and efficiency to the transportation system. This move comes as part of the railway’s ongoing efforts to modernise and upgrade its services to meet the growing demands of the nation, said Minister of Railways, Communications, and Electronic & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Vande Bharat, the state-of-the-art trains are equipped with cutting-edge technology, enabling higher speeds and reducing travel time between destinations.
Looking ahead, the National Rail Plan envisions the development of several high-speed rail routes for future expansion. Some of the potential routes listed in the plan include Delhi – Varanasi, Delhi – Ahmedabad, Mumbai – Nagpur, Mumbai – Hyderabad, Chennai – Mysore, Delhi – Amritsar, and Varanasi – Howrah. These projects hold the promise of transforming India’s rail infrastructure and providing passengers with an unmatched travel experience, according to Vaishnaw.
Additionally, the Indian Railways is actively working on the ambitious Mumbai – Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project, with technical collaboration and financial assistance from the Government of Japan. Vaishnaw stated that this high-speed rail project is expected to revolutionise travel between the two major cities, further promoting economic growth and connectivity.
Under the Vision 2024 initiative, a total of 251 railway infrastructure projects have been undertaken, including 76 New Line projects, 19 Gauge Conversion projects, and 156 Doubling projects. These projects collectively span a length of 29,147 kilometers and are estimated to cost INR 4.92 lakh crore rupees. These projects cover various regions across the country, with some of them falling fully or partially in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. As of April 1, 2023, these projects are in different stages of planning, sanction, and construction, the Railways minister stated.
This ambitious initiative aims to construct Greenfield Airports, develop new terminals, bolster existing terminals, and strengthen runways, among other crucial projects. Notably, to meet the sustainable aviation goals, 55 airports, including 49 managed by AAI, have successfully transitioned to 100 per cent green energy, marking a significant achievement in the industry’s sustainable transformation.
Vaishnaw presented this information in a Lok Sabha reply where he also mentioned that as part of the ongoing efforts to improve rail connectivity, a substantial track length of 9,910 kilometers has been commissioned, representing progress in the Vision 2024 plan. To achieve this milestone, an expenditure of IN 2.45 lakh crore rupees has been incurred up to March 2023.The Ministry of Railways has also taken up the construction of two Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) to facilitate seamless and efficient movement of goods. The Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) spans a length of 1,337 kilometers from Ludhiana to Sonnagar, while the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) extends 1,506 kilometers from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal (JNPT) to Dadri. Out of the total sanctioned length of 2,843 kilometers for these DFCs, an impressive 2,196 kilometers (EDFC-1,150 km and WDFC-1,046 km) have already been completed, further boosting freight transportation capabilities.
To enhance passenger travel and reduce travel time, Indian Railways has been continuously working on rationalizing the timetable in collaboration with IIT-Bombay, informed Vaishnaw. By converting passenger trains to Express services and Express services to Superfast services, the railway aims to speed up train services and provide passengers with faster, more efficient travel options, he added.
As the Indian Railways continues to forge ahead with its ambitious Vision 2024 and other transformative projects, the nation eagerly awaits a future marked by faster, safer, and more efficient rail travel, supporting economic growth and development across the country.
