Vinod Bhat
New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has outlined plans to expand India’s seven high-density railway routes into a four-line network, aimed at increasing capacity on some of the country’s busiest passenger and freight corridors.
The seven routes together span nearly 11,000 km but account for around 41% of the Indian Railways’ total traffic, despite making up only about 16% of the overall railway network, according to the minister.
The high-density routes include Delhi–Howrah, Howrah–Chennai, Chennai–Mumbai, Mumbai–Delhi, Delhi–Chennai, Mumbai–Howrah and Delhi–Guwahati.
The proposed expansion will involve creating four railway lines across these corridors, allowing trains to operate with greater frequency and reducing pressure on sections that currently handle heavy passenger and freight movement.
Vaishnaw highlighted the expansion as part of the government’s broader efforts to strengthen railway infrastructure and prepare the network for future growth in both passenger and freight traffic.
The minister also pointed to the environmental and economic advantages of rail transport, saying greater railway capacity could support cleaner mobility while helping lower transportation costs.
The four-laning of the high-density network is expected to play a key role in improving connectivity between major metropolitan centres and industrial regions. The corridors connect several of India’s largest cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Guwahati, making them critical to the movement of people and goods across the country.
The expansion is being positioned as part of the government’s longer-term plan to build a higher-capacity railway network capable of meeting rising demand.
