Ministry of Railways
More Than 78% of Railway Tracks Upgraded for
Sectional Speed of 110 kmph and Above
Track Upgradation: Railways Deploy 60 kg Rails,
Wider Base Concrete Sleepers, Thick Web Switches,
Longer Rail Panels, H-beam Sleepers etc. to
Improve Speed Potential of Tracks
Vande Bharat Trains Run at Maximum Operating
Speed of 160 kmph with Design Speed of 180 kmph
Posted On: 25 JUL 2025...
Ministry of Railways More Than 78% of Railway Tracks Upgraded for Sectional Speed of 110 kmph and Above
Track Upgradation: Railways Deploy 60 kg Rails, Wider Base Concrete Sleepers, Thick Web Switches, Longer Rail Panels, H-beam Sleepers etc. to Improve Speed Potential of Tracks Vande Bharat Trains Run at Maximum Operating Speed of 160 kmph with Design Speed of 180 kmph
Posted On: 25 JUL 2025 3:46PM by PIB Delhi Upgradation and improvement of railway tracks on Indian Railways to increase the speed potential have been carried out in a big way during the last 10 years. The measures for track upgradation include use of 60 kg rails, wider base concrete sleepers, thick web switches, longer rail panels, H Beam sleepers, modern track renewal and maintenance machines etc.
As a result of the above measures, there has been significant increase in speed potential of the tracks. The details of speed potential of railway tracks during 2014 vis a vis 2025 are as under:
Sectional Speed 2014 2025
(kmph) Track Km % Track Km % <110 47,897 60.4 22,862 21.6 110-130 26,409 33.3 59,800 56.6 130 & above 5,036 6.3 23,010 21.8 Total 79,342 100 1,05,672 100 The Vande Bharat trains presently running over the Indian Railway network are Semi-High speed train services with design speed of 180 kmph and maximum operating speed of 160 kmph. The average speed of the train depends upon the geometry of the track, stoppages enroute, maintenance work in the section etc.
The first prototype of Vande Bharat Sleeper trainset has already been manufactured. Based on the extensive field trials and the experience gained therein, the first rake of Vande Bharat sleeper train is undergoing commissioning.
This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
*****Dharmendra Tewari/ Dr. Nayan Solanki/ Ritu Raj (Release ID: 2148364)