CHENNAI: In about five to 10 years, travelling to Mumbai and Delhi by train is going to be hassle-free and fast as railways is planning to upgrade lines to run trains that can clock speeds of 160kmph (100 miles).
If the plans succeed by 2026 or 2031, travel time to Mumbai will come down to just 10 hours and travel time to Delhi will be 18 hours at an average speed of 120kmph.
A railway official said though the aim was to make the lines capable of running trains at 160kmph, it will mean that the average speed will increase considerably from the current 70km to close to 120km or 130km. “This speed is more than enough to make the journey comfortable and faster. It can further improve travel time to destinations en route on the two lines,” he said.
Under the National Rail Plan (NRP), Indian Railways is gearing up to hasten upgradation work of Chennai-Delhi and Chennai-Mumbai lines - rated as among the seven high-density routes - to ensure that trains can be run at 160kmph. The measures include laying additional lines, building flyovers and introducing automatic signalling and collision control systems along the route by 2026 or 2031. The work is going to be done in phases but the speed of the trains is expected to increase when major bottleneck stretches have been eliminated, said a railway official.
More than 80% of the Chennai-Delhi line and around 60% of the Chennai-Mumbai line are being utilised above 100% capacity and need decongestion.
The NRP has mapped ways to do the work and has suggested deadlines for the seven high-density lines. Some of the work is already on because stretches of Delhi-Chennai line form part of the dedicated freight corridor which makes doubling easier.
R Ramanathan, former member, Railway Board, said: “These proposals were under discussion for the last 20 years. We have the rolling stock as the LHB coaches can run at 160kmph. A few bottlenecks may have to be cleared. The short curvature of tracks may have to be eased, layout of stations may have to be changed, the junctions may need bridges. This means need for land. That’s where the projects get stuck. Many of the projects included in the pink book of railways are delayed because of trouble in land acquisition.”
A senior railway official said tracks, sleepers and rolling stock are enough to handle the speed. “The curves and gradients need to be changed and the entire route need to be fenced. There should not be level crossings and bridges and flyovers will have to be built.”
However, he said railways should ensure that all trains could be operated at 160kmph otherwise other trains will have to be stopped to let the high-speed train to pass. There are several short-distance trains running on these two routes.
“This will affect better utilisation of the line. Delaying other trains for a train to achieve good speed will lead to further congestion. Slow-moving trains may have to be held up because four to five signal sections will be kept clear and open for a semi high-speed train to travel,” the official said.
Sources said NRP has put forward a roadmap to develop the infrastructure but there should be a way to circumvent the land acquisition tangle. “It took almost 20 years and three rulings by the courts to clear the land acquisition for just 500m of MRTS line from Adambakkam to St Thomas Mount,” said an official.