Trains to run at 200 kmph

New Delhi, April 15

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After the successful launch of 160-kmph train service on the Delhi-Agra corridor, the Railways is aiming at achieving the same speed on the Delhi-Chandigarh route with the help of its French counterpart.

The 245-km Delhi-Chandigarh corridor, one of the busiest routes in northern India, is slated to be the first semi-high speed project being taken up by the Railways to run trains at a maximum speed of 200 kmph.

The Railways has identified nine high-priority passenger corridors of a total of 6,400-km track, including Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Chandigarh, to be upgraded to run semi-high speed train service. The Delhi-Kanpur, Nagpur-Bilaspur, Mysore-Bengaluru-Chennai, Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Chennai-Hyderabad and Nagpur- Secunderabad routes have also been identified for raising the speed of passenger trains to 160/200 kmph.

The SNCF, the French railways, will submit the execution strategy and implementation model with detailed cost of the semi-high speed project involving upgrade of the 245-km Chandigarh-Delhi route. The French team is expected to submit the final report with details of cost analysis by October, said a senior Railway Ministry official. According to an estimate, it is likely to cost over Rs 10,000 crore with Rs 46 crore per kilometre for running trains at 200 kmph, which includes rolling stock, and signal and track upgrade on the Chandigarh-Delhi corridor. Currently, Shatabdi Express covers the 245-km distance in about three hours 30 minutes at a speed of 110 kmph. The 200-kmph speed will reduce the journey time to one hour 50 minutes with one stop at Ambala. PTI