Rs 18,163 cr projects to increase train speed in select

The Niti Ayog has approved two projects worth Rs 18,163 crore to increase speed of trains in select sectors, the government said today.

The proposal is to increase the speed to 160/200 km per hour.

Minister of State for Railways, Rajen Gohain, told the Rajya Sabha that the Ayog supported the proposal of two projects at estimated cost of Rs 18,163 crore for raising speed on existing corridors of Delhi-Mumbai (including Vadodara-Ahmedabad) and Delhi-Howrah (including Kanpur- Lucknow), in June 2017.

The 1,483-km long New Delhi-Mumbai rail route will also include the Baroda-Ahmedabad sector, and is estimated to cost Rs 11,189 crore. The 1,525-km long New Delhi-Howrah route, which also includes the Kanpur-Lucknow section, is estimated to cost Rs 6,974 crore, he said.

The work on both sections will be given to single agency through global bidding for effective implementation of the project.

Gohain also stated that the signalling system and safety improvement measures on both the sectors include reduction in travel time between three metropolises, fencing off the entire 3,000 kms on both routes, upgradation of the signalling system, elimination of all level crossings and installing train protection warning system (TPWS).

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)