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Indian Railways plans to expand capacity on about 11,000 km of high-density routes by developing four-track infrastructure, targeting corridors that currently carry roughly 41% of the railway network’s traffic despite accounting for only 16% of its route length.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the programme covers seven major corridors linking some of India’s largest industrial, commercial and population centres. The proposed expansion is intended to ease congestion and provide additional capacity for both freight and passenger services as demand increases.
The seven identified routes are Delhi–Howrah, Howrah–Chennai, Chennai–Mumbai, Mumbai–Delhi, Delhi–Chennai, Mumbai–Howrah and Delhi–Guwahati. Together, they form the core of the railway network’s high-density traffic corridors.
The four-laning programme would create four railway lines along the identified routes, allowing the network to accommodate more train movements and providing greater flexibility in managing passenger and freight traffic. Some sections already have four tracks, while work is under way on other stretches.
According to Vaishnaw, only a relatively small portion of the identified network remains in the detailed project report approval stage, with construction expected to proceed as project clearances are completed.
For freight operators, additional capacity on these trunk routes could improve the availability and reliability of train paths, particularly on sections where passenger and goods services compete for limited track capacity. It could also support the wider shift of cargo from road to rail by providing more room for freight services.
The expansion would complement the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors, which have added dedicated infrastructure for freight movement on two major national routes. Additional capacity on the conventional network could help improve connectivity between production centres, ports, distribution hubs and major consumption markets.
The government has also linked greater rail capacity to its objective of reducing logistics costs. Vaishnaw has cited lower per-tonne-kilometre transport costs for rail compared with road as a reason for expanding the network, while also pointing to rail’s lower environmental impact.
By concentrating investment on corridors responsible for a disproportionate share of traffic, Indian Railways is seeking to address its most significant capacity constraints while creating additional headroom for future growth in freight and passenger movement.
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