Railways plans 10,000km of new high-speed corridors for faster journeys
The Railway Ministry is reportedly planning 10,000km of new high-speed corridors which will allow overnight trains to run at speeds of up to 250kmph. Simultaneously, Minister Piyush Goyal has also urged the railway board to work on cutting costs on construction significantly. Currently, it costs roughly Rs. 100cr for construction of each kilometer of track. An announcement is expected in April.
High-speed corridors as an alternative to air travel
The Railways aims to "ensure trains reach the destination so that travelers (get) enough time to attend office after reaching home," said an official. For this, passengers can use overnight trains instead of bullet trains running at speeds of 350kmph. Railways is considering the possibility of constructing such high-speed corridors on shorter routes like Mumbai-Pune, which can offer a better alternative to air travel.
Railways exploring ways to cut down costs
At the same time, Railways is mulling how to reduce costs. Some options are building single pillars, or two-track corridors over national highways. A major goal is to build them on existing railway land. This will cut down significant costs of land acquisition as well as reduce the timeline for project completion, since land acquisition is often the lengthiest process.
Railways to invest Rs. 20L crore in modernization work
Earlier, there were reports that Railways is planning a Rs. 20L crore investment over 10 years for converting 10,000km of tracks to high-speed corridors and other modernization projects. Half the amount will be spent on speeding up travel by upgrading existing corridors, including Delhi-Mumbai and Bengaluru-Hyderabad, into high-speed corridors. A 3,300km dedicated corridor for freight movement being mulled will also free up existing routes.
Railways plans to monetize assets to generate revenue for development
Since the NDA came to power in 2014, investment in railways has increased substantially. In the last three years, over Rs. 3L crore has been spent in development of this sector. Railways plans to monetize assets to generate revenues for further work.
