New Delhi–Indian Railways will soon start sub-projects aimed at introducing semi-high speed trains on the Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai routes, a senior ministry official said on Tuesday.
“The two sub-projects under ‘Mission Raftaar’ are expected to be completed in three years with a total outlay of Rs 18,163 crore,” the official said.
After the upgrade, trains on the routes will run at a speed of 160 km per hour.
The ‘Mission Raftaar’ project of the Indian Railways envisages to raise the average speed of both passenger and freight trains.
The mission is being spearheaded by a cross disciplinary mobility directorate in the Railway Board.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said a Detailed Project Report of the routes is being prepared.
The Delhi-Howrah section will be upgraded at a cost of Rs 6,974 crore, and the Delhi-Mumbai section at an estimated Rs 11,189 crore.
The official said the work involved replacing locomotives-hauled trains with Main line Electric Multiple Units and Diesel Electric Multiple Units trains. (IANS)
