Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday, in Rajya Sabha, said that the Indian Railways has significantly improved its track speed potential over the past 10 years, a result of extensive upgrades and improvements to its infrastructure.
These include the adoption of 60 kg rails, wider base concrete sleepers, thick web switches, longer rail panels, H Beam sleepers, and the deployment of modern track renewal and maintenance machines.
With this, more than more than 78 per cent of railway tracks have been upgraded for sectional speed of 110 kmph and above, the minister informed the upper house.
Conversely, the mileage of tracks capable of speeds between 110-130 kmph has more than doubled, now constituting over 56 per cent of the total network. Critically, tracks designed for 130 kmph and above have seen nearly a five-fold increase, jumping from 5,036 km to 23,010 km. The total track length has also expanded significantly, from 79,342 km to 105,672 km.
Minister Vaishnaw also provided an update on the Vande Bharat trains, which are currently operating as semi-high-speed services across the Indian Railway network.
These trains boast a design speed of 180 kmph and a maximum operating speed of 160 kmph. The actual average speed of these trains is influenced by factors such as track geometry, the number of stoppages, and ongoing maintenance work in specific sections.
In a further development, the first prototype of the Vande Bharat Sleeper trainset has been manufactured. Following extensive field trials and the valuable experience gained from them, the inaugural rake of the Vande Bharat sleeper train is now in the commissioning phase, promising enhanced comfort and long-distance travel capabilities for passengers.