Mumbai-Delhi travel time to be halved

The Indian Railways is looking at technical collaboration with Japan to implement its project to reduce travel time on the Mumbai-Delhi route by half. The project which requires train speeds of the order of 200kmph, is currently undergoing a pre-feasibility study by Japan which is expected to submit a report shortly. Since the existing electric locomotives with the Railways are not designed to run at 200kmph, it will procure train sets for the purpose. Train sets are similar to Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) rakes, and consist of self-powered electric locomotives with about ten to twelve modern coaches. The project will also require the Railways to modernise the signalling system besides strengthening the tracks and bridges. To help the existing tracks take the additional load, the Indian Railways plans to shift all freight trains on the Mumbai-Delhi route eventually to the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) when it is commissioned around 2016-17.