Several key routes on the Indian Railway are about to get a long-awaited upgrade to top speeds. Indian Railways is about to rev up works to increase maximum permissible speeds (MPS) on these routes.
Mission Raftaar, as the project is called, was conceived in 2016 to increase the maximum and average speeds of both passenger and freight trains.
On most routes, speeds for mail/express trains have a ceiling of 110 km/h or lower. Premium trains like Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and Durontos are allowed to operate at 120 km/h on significant parts of the Golden Quadrilateral and Diagonals. The rakes for such trains are fit to operate at 130 kph or above.
Over the past few years, coach manufacturing units like Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Rail Coach Factory (RCF) and Modern Coach Factory (MCF) have switched to production of LHB coaches. These new and safer designs are fit for operations at speeds of 130 kph and above.
Many important trains previously using the legacy ICF design coaches have now LHB rolling stock and 130 km/h capable locomotives. Once the line is declared fit for the upgraded speeds, it should be possible in theory to increase MPS of such trains from 110 km/h to 130 km/h.
Some sections are already awaiting safety approval to officially increase MPS, according to officials. Over the next few months, many sections are expected to complete required works and receive approvals from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS).
Section-Wise Status and Target Dates of Speed Upgrades By Route
Mumbai – New Delhi
| Zone | Division | Section | Present speed | Proposed speed | Target date / Revised date |
| WR | Mumbai | Virar-Surat | 110 | 130 | Aug 2020 |
| WR | Vadodara | Surat-Godhra | 110 | 130 | Aug 2020 |
| WR | Ratlam | Godhra-Limkheda | 110 | 120 | Aug 2020 |
| WR | Ratlam | Limkheda-Meghnagar | 100 | 110 | Aug 2020 |
| WR | Ratlam | Ratlam-Nagda | 110 | 130 | Mar 2020 |
| WCR | Kota | Nagda-Mathura | 110 | 130 | Mar 2020 |
| NCR | Agra | Palwal-Dhaulpur | 110 | 130 | Aug 2021 |
| NR | Delhi | Nizamuddin-New Delhi | 120 | 130 | Apr 2020 |
Mumbai – Howrah
| Zone | Division | Section | Present speed | Proposed speed | Target date / Revised date |
| CR | Mumbai | CSMT-Kasara | 105 | 130 | Mar 2023 (Dec 2022 ) |
| CR | Bhusawal | Igatpuri-Bhusawal | 110 | 130 | Mar 2023 ( – ) |
| CR | Bhusawal | Bhusawal-Badnera | 110 | 130 | Mar 2023 ( – ) |
| CR | Nagpur | Badnera-Wardha | 110 | 130 | Dec 2024 ( – ) |
| CR | Nagpur | Wardha-Nagpur | 110 | 130 | Dec 2024 ( – ) |
| SECR | Nagpur | Nagpur-Durg | 110 | 130 | Mar 2021 ( – ) |
| SER | Chakradharpur | Jharsuguda-Tatanagar | 110 | 130 | – ( – ) |
| SER | Kharagpur | Tatanagar-Kharagpur | 110 | 130 | – (Dec 2020 ) |
| SER | Kharagpur | Kharagpur-Andal | 110 | 130 | Mar 2020 (Jun 2020 ) |
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Delhi – Chennai
| Zone | Division | Section | Present speed | Proposed speed | Target date / Revised date |
| SR | Chennai | Chennai-Gudur | 105/110 | 130 | Mar 2021 (Mar 2021 ) |
| SCR | Vijayawada | Kondapalli – Vijaywada | 120 | 130 | Feb 2021 (Mar 2021 ) |
| SCR | Secunderabad | Kazipet – Kondapalli | 120 | 130 | Nov 2020 ( – ) |
| SCR | Secunderabad | Ballarshah-Kazipet | 120 | 130 | Jul 2020 ( – ) |
| CR | Nagpur | Ballarshah-Sewagram | 110 | 130 | Dec 2024 ( – ) |
| CR | Nagpur | Sewagram-Nagpur | 110 | 130 | Dec 2024 ( – ) |
| CR | Nagpur | Nagpur-Narkhed | 110 | 130 | Dec 2024 ( – ) |
| CR | Nagpur | Narkhed-Itarsi | 110 | 130 | Mar 2020 (Jun 2020 ) |
| WCR | Bhopal | Itarsi-Bina | 110 | 130 | Mar 2021 (May 2020 ) |
| NCR | Jhansi | Bina-Lalitpur | 110 | 130 | Aug 2020 (Aug 2020 ) |
| NCR | Jhansi | Lalitpur-Dhaulpur | 110 | 130 | Aug 2020 (Aug 2020 ) |
| NCR | Agra | Dhaulpur-Palwal | 110 | 130 | Aug 2021 (Jun 2020 ) |
| NR | Delhi | Tughlakabad-Nizamuddin | 120 | 130 | Apr 2020 ( – ) |
| NR | Delhi | Nizamuddin-New Delhi | 120 | 130 | Apr 2020 ( – ) |
Mumbai – Chennai
| Zone | Division | Section | Present speed | Proposed speed | Target date / Revised date |
| CR | Mumbai | CSMT-Kalyan | 105 | 130 | Mar 2023 (Dec 2022 ) |
| CR | Mumbai | Kalyan-Karjat | 105 | 130 | Dec 2021 (Dec 2022 ) |
| CR | Pune | Lonavala-Pune | 110 | 130 | Aug 2020 (Dec 2021 ) |
| CR | Pune | Pune-Daund | 110 | 130 | Aug 2020 (Feb 2021 ) |
| CR | Solapur | Daund-Solapur | 110 | 130 | Mar 2021 (Dec 2021 ) |
| CR | Solapur | Solapur-Wadi | 110 | 130 | Mar 2021 (Dec 2021 ) |
| SR | Chennai | Chennai-Gudur | 105/110 | 130 | Mar 2021 (Mar 2021 ) |
Chennai – Howrah
| Zone | Division | Section | Present speed | Proposed speed | Target date / Revised date |
| SR | Chennai | Chennai-Gudur | 105/110 | 130 | Mar 2021 (Mar 2021 ) |
| ECoR | Waltair | Palasa-Duvvada | 110 | 130 | Mar 2021 |
| ECoR | Khurda Road | Khurda Rd-Nayagarh Town | 80/85 | 100 | Mar 2020 |
| ECoR | Khurda Road | Khurda Rd-Palasa | 110 | 130 | Mar 2021 |
| ECoR | Khurda Road | Khurda Rd-Bhadrak | 110 | 130 | Mar 2021 |
| SER | Kharagpur | Bhadrak-Kharagpur | 110 | 130 | Mar 2022 |
| SER | Kharagpur | Kharagpur-Andal | 110 | 130 | Mar 2020 (Jun 2020 ) |
Mumbai – Delhi via Bhusawal
| Zone | Division | Section | Present speed | Proposed speed | Target date / Revised date |
| CR | Mumbai | CSMT-Kasara | 105 | 130 | Mar 2023 (Dec 2022 ) |
| CR | Bhusawal | Igatpuri-Bhusawal | 110 | 130 | Mar 2023 ( – ) |
| WCR | Bhopal | Khandawa-Itarsi | 110 | 130 | Mar 2023 (Jul 2020 ) |
| WCR | Bhopal | Itarsi-Bina | 110 | 130 | Mar 2021 (May 2020 ) |
| NCR | Jhansi | Bina-Lalitpur | 110 | 130 | Aug 2020 (Aug 2020 ) |
| NCR | Jhansi | Lalitpur-Dhaulpur | 110 | 130 | Aug 2020 (Aug 2020 ) |
| NCR | Agra | Dhaulpur-Palwal | 110 | 130 | Aug 2021 (Jun 2020 ) |
| NR | Delhi | Tughlakabad-Nizamuddin | 120 | 130 | Apr 2020 ( – ) |
| NR | Delhi | Nizamuddin-New Delhi | 120 | 130 | Apr 2020 ( – ) |
Full List of Sections To Be Upgraded
However, there are some caveats to remember:
- Trains with ICF rolling stock are likely to continue operating at earlier speeds.
- Many trunk route sections are operating at well beyond designed capacity, according to Indian Railways. In such cases, it may not be possible for all trains to operate at 130 km/h.
- Crew availability may also be a factor if present requirements for train operations above 120 km/h are not relaxed.
- The speeds mentioned in these tables are for mail/express category trains that otherwise operate at 110 km/h or below. Work on upgrading the Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Howrah routes to 160 km/h is also underway and is a separate project.
- Trains like Gatimaan and Bhopal Shatabdi already operate at higher speeds and are not within the purview of this plan.
It remains to be seen if zones are able to push ahead with the speed increases on time. The benefits of reduced travel times will be good news for long distance passengers.
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Sorry for nitpicking, but you have written ANDAL instead of ANDUL. Andal (ER) is in the Durgapur – Asansol section while Andul (SER) is in the Howrah – Kharagpur section near Santragachi.
If possible, then please do rectify it, otherwise many of the people will get confused thinking it to be Andul – Maurigram – Bhattanagar – Dankuni Chord Connector (CC) line.
Thank you !!
Abhinav
What is the possible tentative time for soeed upgrade to 130kmph between Tatanagar To Raigarh