Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Railways

14-March-2012 14:41 IST

Modernization of Rolling Stock

Travel Time Between New Delhi And Kolkata to Come Down from 17 to 14 Hours

Upgradation of coaches including EMU coaches, locomotives and wagons will be one of the key areas of modernization during the next 5 years for improving safety and convenience & comfort of passengers. Following measures have been proposed by the Minister of Railways Shri Dinesh Trivedi while introducing the Railway Budget for 2012-13 in Parliament today:-

i.    To increase manufacture of crash-worthy LHB coaches with proven anti-climb feature of not toppling during accidents;

ii.   To procure new generation electric locomotives of 9000 and 12000 HP and diesel locomotives of 5500 HP & 6000 HP to facilitate running of heavier and longer freight trains at higher speeds;

iii.  To introduce new wagons with capability of 25 tonnes axle load and higher payload to tare ratio to improve productivity;

iv. Introduction of new Auto Car Wagon capable of carrying 318 cars per rake, presently undergoing oscillation trials; and

v.  With successful validation of running of double-stack container trains, proliferation of such trains is also planned.

The Minister said, the investment in rolling stock in the next 5 years is estimated to be Rs. 1,70,751 crore. He proposed highest ever allocation of Rs. 18,193 crore for the next year which represents more than 30% of the Annual Plan outlay.

The Minister said, a combination of prudent investment decisions in the areas of track & bridges, signalling, doubling and train-sets is proposed to be adopted to enable train running at speed of 160 kmph and above. While this would significantly reduce travel time for passenger trains by 20-25%, the freight revenue gains. Such infrastructure would also enable Indian Railways to run Shatabdi trains on long distance trunk routes and between metros. In fact, the travel time between New Delhi and Kolkata would get reduced from almost 17 hours to 14 hours.

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MKP/AD/DB

Rolling stock modernization to enable higher speed services and shorten intercity travel times between major metros. Proposed rolling stock and infrastructure upgrades include manufacture of crash worthy coaches, procurement of higher horsepower electric and diesel locomotives, introduction of higher axle load wagons, deployment of high capacity auto car rakes and double stack container trains, funded through a planned five year capital programme and increased annual allocation, to enable routine operation at or above 160 kmph and reduce long distance passenger journey times.