Trains at 200 kmph between Delhi-Mumbai soon

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: For a nation that has come to take trains running at 100 kmph as superfast, there is good news on the way. Indian Railways is working on a plan to run passenger trains at a speed of 200 kmph between Mumbai and Delhi by 2017. And these won’t be bullet trains, which will take more time to become reality, the new superfast trains will use the existing tracks once the freight trains shift to the dedicated freight corridor being laid between Dadri in Uttar Pradesh near Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Mumbai, a newspaper reported. Dubbed as semi-high speed trains – bullet trains run at speeds over 350 kmph – will significantly reduce the travel time between India’s two biggest cities. However, the tracks would have to be strengthened to make them capable to handling trains at 200 kmph. The current fastest train on the section, the Rajdhani Express have a maximum speed of 120 kmph. As per The Economic Times, the Railways had commissioned a study last year to identify the infrastructure that needs to be upgraded for the high-speed service. A railway official told the business daily that the work can be completed within four years of commissioning. The other big advantage of the dedicated freight corridor (DFC) is that freight trains would also speed up considerably as the current average speed of freight trains increase from the present 25 kmph to 75 kmph. The first phase of Rewari-Vododara of Western DFC will be commissioned by December 2016 and the entire line will be operational by March 2017.