In view of the rapid increase in demand for rail travel in the country, Indian Railways has decided to take a big step. Railways has planned to double the capacity of trains running from major cities of the country in the next 5 years from the current level. Railways aims to massively increase the capacity to operate trains in major cities by the year 2030.
According to the Railway Ministry, the current infrastructure of the Railways will be strengthened as per the future requirements so that the increasing passenger numbers can be handled smoothly. Under this scheme, many important works like expansion of coaching terminals, construction of new terminals and increasing track and signaling capacity will be carried out. The works proposed by the Railways include development of additional platforms, stabling lines, pit lines and shunting facilities at the existing terminals.
What is the railway plan?
Railways has clarified that along with the terminals, the capacity of the stations around them will also be increased. For example, along with Pune, Hadapsar, Khadki and Alandi stations have also been included in the capacity increase plan. Equal attention has to be given to suburban and non-suburban traffic. This plan is being made keeping in mind both suburban and non-suburban traffic, as the needs of both are different. A comprehensive and time bound plan is being worked out for 48 major cities of the country, which will include already approved, proposed and new projects.
48 major cities included
This ambitious plan includes 48 major cities, such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Patna, Lucknow, Pune, Nagpur, Varanasi, Kanpur, Jaipur, Bhopal, Indore, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guwahati, Ranchi, Raipur. The target set by the Railways is to double the capacity by the year 2030, but the Railways says that the increase in capacity will start in a phased manner in the next five years, so that the passengers can get immediate benefit from it. These plans will be divided into three categories – immediate, short-term and long-term, for which clear timelines and outcomes will be fixed.
Regarding this scheme, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that to meet the increasing passenger demand and reduce crowding, we are expanding coaching terminals in different cities and strengthening sectional and operational capacity. This will modernize the railway network and improve connectivity across the country.
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