High-speed trains to be a reality

The Indian Railways is on an ambitious track of increasing the speed of trains. 

High-speed trains will run on select routes at a speed of 160 to 200 km per hour. 

Shatabdi, Rajdhani and Duronto trains will be first ones to join the chain, said Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar on Thursday,

“Given our financial constraints and issues related to land acquisition and track fencing for high-speed trains with a speed of 300 km per hour, we are exploring possibilities of achieving 160 to 200 km per hour with marginal inputs to the existing infrastructure.’’  

Kumar  said the railways was identifying routes where trains could be run at high speed. Some Shatabdi routes like Delhi-Bhopal and Delhi-Chandigarh have already been found suitable for this run. Other routes are also being examined.

He refused to commit a timeline. However, Kumar indicated that it would be implemented within two or three years.   There were many factors, including cattle grazing, level crossings and topography, that were needed to be taken into account.

“We will need to introduce changes in signalling pattern and braking protocols. We will also have to do some changes on the coaches which comply with passengers’ comfort and safety needs,” he said.

High speed trains will require light weight coaches. There will be some changes in wheels as well. 

The Railways will make changes in the time table to make available tracks for the trains at higher speed.

Now, the fastest train is the Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi Express. It runs at a maximum speed of 130 km per hour on the Delhi-Agra route. Its average effective speed is 110 km per hour. Rajdhani trains now run at a maximum speed of 110 km, but the average speed is 90 km per hour.