ByAroosa Ahmed, Hindustan Times, Mumbai
In a move aimed at reducing the travel time between Mumbai and New Delhi by up to three hours, the Western Railway (WR) has started groundwork on projects to increase speed of its outstation trains.
Rajdhani Express, which takes 15 hours, is the fastest train on the Mumbai-Delhi route. The travel time by Rajdhani Express is expected to reduce to 12 hours after increasing its speed to 160 kilometres per hour (kmph) from the current range of 110 -130 kmph, said WR officials.
For the purpose, WR is taking up a slew of infrastructure works at the cost of ₹11,188 crore. Expected to be completed by March 2024, the works include strengthening of railway tracks, laying of geogrids and geotextiles on the route, construction of compound walls along the tracks at several places to prevent trespassing and fitting the train with anti-collision system to avoid accidents.
Of the 1,474 kms between Mumbai and Delhi, WR will be working on increasing the speed between Mumbai Central and Nagda in Madhya Pradesh (693km), Vadodara and Ahmedabad (95km), Nagda and Mathura (545km). The North Central Railway will work to accelerate speed between Mathura and Palwal, Haryana (82km), while the Northern Railway will work on increasing the speed between Palwal and New Delhi (57km).
HT