“At present, the railways is carrying about 800 crore passengers annually. We have to increase the capacity to 1,000 crore in four to five years as the population is growing,” Vaishnaw told reporters at the Rail Bhawan.
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Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday announced his initiative to introduce 3,000 new trains within the next four to five years, aiming to elevate the current passenger capacity of the railways from 800 crore to 1,000 crore. Emphasising the need to accommodate the growing population, Vaishnaw expressed his commitment to reducing travel time as an additional goal for his ministry.
“At present, the railways is carrying about 800 crore passengers annually. We have to increase the capacity to 1,000 crore in four to five years as the population is growing,” Vaishnaw told reporters at the Rail Bhawan.
“For this, we need 3,000 extra trains which will make several trips to accommodate this increased number of passengers,” he said.
400 to 450 new Vande Bharat trains coming soon
Railway sources have indicated that there are currently 69,000 new coaches available, with an annual production of approximately 5,000 new coaches. These efforts are expected to result in the addition of 200 to 250 new trains each year, in addition to the upcoming inclusion of 400 to 450 Vande Bharat trains in the coming years.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has highlighted the objective of reducing travel time, emphasising the ongoing initiatives to enhance train speed and expand the rail network.
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“It is important to minimise the time taken to accelerate and decelerate a long route train because besides scheduled stoppages, it has to decrease its speed at several cautions and curves along the route,” he said.
“If we take the Delhi-Kolkata route from Rajdhani Express, and if we improve the acceleration and deceleration time at curves, stations and cautions, we will save two hours and 20 minutes from the current total travel time,” Vaishnaw said.
He mentioned that Vande Bharat exhibits an acceleration and deceleration rate four times superior to other mail and express trains, leading to significant time savings and a higher average speed. Acknowledging the time it will take to implement Vande Bharat on all routes, the railways is actively devising an interim solution to enhance acceleration and deceleration by doubling the current standard.
“This advancement is made possible through the implementation of push-pull configuration mode. Our plan is to incorporate this configuration into all newly manufactured coaches. The adoption of push-pull configuration in long-distance trains will result in significant time savings,” stated Vaishnaw.
In addition to the push-pull mode, Vaishnaw outlined the railways’ effort to transition from separate coaches attached together to integrated 22-coach trains (train sets with 22 coaches). This innovative approach offers multiple benefits to passengers. Vaishnaw explained, “Rather than producing individual coaches from our factories, we will now manufacture entire trains. This approach incorporates numerous safety measures, ensuring the trains are secure and convenient in various aspects.”
Annual addition of 5,000 Km of railway tracks to boost capacity
Vaishnav highlighted the annual installation of approximately 5,000 km of railway tracks to substantially augment capacity. Additionally, he mentioned the approval of 1,000 flyovers and underpasses, with ongoing construction at various locations. Notably, last year saw the completion of 1,002 flyovers and underpasses, and this year’s goal is set at 1,200, according to Vaishnaw.
