Parliament Question: Semi High Speed Train Corridors

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2937 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.12.2025 SEMI HIGH SPEED TRAIN CORRIDORS 2937. SHRI VISHALDADA PRAKASHBAPU PATIL: SHRI SHRIRANG APPA CHANDU BARNE: SHRI RAVINDRA DATTARAM WAIKAR: SHRI NARESH GANPAT MHASKE: SMT. BHARTI PARDHI: DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has launched any new semi-high-speed train services or corridors during the year 2025 and if so, the details thereof; (b) the details of the routes and cities covered under this new service and the projected travel time reduction; (c) the details of the investment made for upgrading railway infrastructure to support these trains; (d) whether there have been any challenges in implementing these upgrades and if so, the details thereof and the manner in which they have been addressed; and (e) the details of the expected impact of these initiatives on passenger convenience and freight efficiency? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (e) Indian Railways have introduced Vande Bharat services which are semi-high speed trains and are aimed to provide better travel experience and improved safety to the passengers. These services are equipped with enhanced safety features and modern passenger amenities like- --2/---2-- ● KAVACH system ● Faster acceleration ● Fully Sealed Gangway ● Automatic Plug Doors ● Better Ride Comfort ● Mini Pantry with provision of Hot Case ● Bottle Cooler ● Deep freezer & Hot water Boiler ● Reclining Ergonomic Seats ● Comfortable Seating with revolving seats in executive class ● Mobile charging sockets for every seat ● Special lavatory for Divyangjan passengers in Driving Trailer Car(DTC), ● CCTVs, etc. Presently, 164 Vande Bharat train services are operational on the various sectors of the Broad Gauge (B.G.) electrified network of Indian Railways (IR). Of these, the following 62Vande Bharat train services, have been introduced during the 2024-25 and 2025-2026: 1. 26651/26652 KSR Bengaluru- Ernakulam Jn. Express 2. 26506 /26505 Banaras - Khajuraho Express 3. 26461/26462 Delhi - Firozpur Cantt. Jn. Express 4. 26503/26504 Saharanpur - Gomtinagar Express 5. 26471/26472 Bikaner - Delhi Cantt. Express 6. 26481/26482 Jodhpur - Delhi Cantt. Express 7. 26301/26302 Jogbani- Danapur Express 8. 26101/26102 Pune Jn. –Ajni(Nagpur) Express --3/---3-- 9. 26751/26752 Belagavi - KSR BengaluruExpress 10. 26405/26406 Amritsar Jn. - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express 11. 26501/26502 Gorakhpur - Patliputra Express 12. 26401/26402 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra - Srinagar Express 13. 26403/26404 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra - Srinagar Express 14. 26901/26902 Sabarmati - Veraval Express 15. 20175/20176 Banaras - Agra Cantt. Express 16. 21893/21894 Tatanagar- Patna Express 17. 21895/21896 Tatanagar- Patna Express 18. 20829/20830 Durg - Visakhapatnam Express 19. 20101/20102 Nagpur - Secunderabad Express 20. 20673/20674 Kolhapur SCSM Terminus - Pune Jn. Express 21. 20893/20894 Tatanagar- Patna Express 22. 22303/22304 Howrah - Gaya Express 23. 20891/20892 Tatanagar- Brahmapur Express 24. 20871/20872 Howrah - Rourkela Express 25. 20669/20670 Hubballi - Pune Jn. Express 26. 22309/22310 Howrah - Jamalpur Express 27. 22499/22500 Varanasi - Deoghar Express 28. 20671/20672 Madurai Jn. - Bangalore Cantt. Express 29. 20981/20982 Udaipur City - Agra Cantt. Express 30. 20627/20628 Chennai Egmore - Nagercoil Jn. Express 31. 22489/22490 Varanasi- Meerut City Jn. Express --4/---4-- Railway Projects: To improve the capacity, expansion of rail network has been taken up in a big way. The details of commissioning/laying of new track across Indian Railways is given below: - Period New track Average commissioning of new tracks Commissioned 2009-14 7,599 Km 4.2 Km/day 2014-25 34,428 Km 8.57 Km/day (more than 2 times) Further, as on 01.04.2025, across Indian Railways, 431 Railway infrastructure projects (154 New Line, 33 Gauge Conversion and 244 Doubling) of total length 35,966 Km, costing approx. ₹. 6.75 lakh crore are sanctioned. The summary is as under: - Category No of Total Length Total Exp Projects Length Commissioned upto Mar'25 NL/GC/DL till Mar 25 (₹. in Cr) (km) (Km) New Lines 154 16,142 3,036 1,45,318 Gauge 33 4,180 2,997 22,753 Conversion Doubling 244 15,644 6,736 1,22,858 /Multitracking Total 431 35,966 12,769 2,90,929 Also, during last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and the current financial year 2025-26, 952 no. Surveys (284 New line, 13 Gauge Conversion and 655 Doubling) of total length 64,891 Km have been sanctioned across Indian Railways. --5/---5-- Signalling system: Upgradation and improvement of railway infrastructure on Indian Railways have been carried out in a big way during last 11 years. The following measures are being taken by Indian Railways to modernise and upgrade tracks, signalling system etc: i. Modern track structure consisting of 60kg, 90 Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) rails, Wider and heavier Pre-stressed Concrete Sleepers (PSC) with elastic fastening, fan-shaped layout turnout on PSC sleepers and Steel Channel/H-beam Sleepers on girder bridges are being used while carrying out primary track renewals. ii. The Thick Web Switches and Weldable CMS Crossings are being used in turnout renewal works. iii. Supply of 130m/260m long rail panels have been increased to avoid welding of joints, thereby improving safety. iv. Thick Web Switch Expansion Joints are being used in place of earlier Conventional/Improved SEJs. v. Adoption of better welding technology for rails i.e. Flash Butt Welding. vi. Adoption of mechanized system for track maintenance using high output plain tampers and points & crossing tampers for improved maintainability & reliability of track. vii. Deployment of state-of-the-art modern machines including Rail Grinding Machines to further improve asset reliability. viii. Mechanisation of track laying activities through use of track machines like PQRS, TRT, T-28 etc. ix. Use of advanced Phased Array technology of testing of rail and welds. x. Deployment of Integrated Track Monitoring Systems (ITMS) and Oscillation Monitoring System (OMS) for comprehensive health assessment to ascertain optimal maintenance requirements. --6/---6-- xi. Adoption of portable Track Measuring Trolley for continuous recording of track parameters in yards. xii. Using web enabled Track Management System (TMS) for integration and data analytics of the track inspection records received through various sources to enable precise maintenance inputs. xiii. Electrical/Electronic Interlocking Systems with centralized operation of points and signals in place of old mechanical signalling have been provided at 6656 stations as on 31.10.2025. xiv. Interlocking of Level Crossing Gates (LC) has been provided at 10098 Level Crossing Gates upto 31.10.2025 for enhancing safety at LC Gate. xv. Axle counters for automatic clearance of Block Section, BPAC (Block Proving Axle Counter) are provided to ensure complete arrival of train without manual intervention before granting line clear to receive next train and to reduce human element. These systems have been provided on 6142 Block Sections up to 31.10.2025. xvi.Automatic Block Signalling (ABS) that enhances line capacity within existing track infrastructure has been provided at 6341 Route km upto 31.10.2025. As a result of above measures, there has been a significant increase in the speed potential of the rail network. The details of speed potential of entire railway network over Indian Railways during 2025 vis-a-vis 2014 are as under: Sectional 2014 2025 (up to Nov'25) Speed Track Km % Track Km % (kmph) 130 & 5,036 6.3 23,010 21.8 above 110-130 26,409 33.3 60,726 57.5 <110 47,897 60.4 21,936 20.8 Total 79,342 100 1,05,672 100 --7/---7-- Redevelopment of Stations Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for redevelopment of stations with a long-term approach. The scheme involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations. The master planning includes: ● Improvement of access to station and circulating areas ● Integration of station with both sides of city ● Improvement of station building ● Improvement of waiting halls, toilets, sitting arrangement, water booths ● Provision of wider foot over bridge/air concourse commensurate with passenger traffic ● Provision of lift/escalators/ramp ● Improvement/Provision of platform surface and cover over platforms ● Provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like 'One Station One Product’ ● Parking areas, Multimodal integration ● Amenities for Divyangjans ● Better passenger information systems ● Provision of executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station The scheme also envisages sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term. So far, 1337 stations have been identified for development under this scheme. Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, works of 160 stations have been completed. The works at other stations have also been taken up at good pace and progress of some of the stations is as given below: ● Tirupati station: The structural framework of new main entry station building on South side and 2 nos. air concourses have been completed. The finishing works of new main entry station building on South side and air concourses, structural work of station building on North side, platform shelter works, lift, escalators etc. have been taken up. --8/---8-- ● Nellore station: The structural frameworks, brickwork and plastering of station buildings on both East and West sides and structural work of air concourse have been completed. The finishing works of station building on both East and West side and air concourse, extension work of subway, water tanks and sewage treatment plant have been taken up. ● Yesvantpur station: The structural works of East side station building, civil works of East side sub-station, East side elevated road and Multi Level Car parking have been completed. The finishing works of East side station building, East side elevated road and Multi Level Car parking, sewage treatment plant, structural work of West side station building and air concourse have been taken up. ● Bangalore Cantt. station: The works of 24 m wide diversion road on the South side, training centre, hostel on North side and structural work of South side station building have been completed. The finishing work South side station building, structural work of North side station building and Foot Over Bridge have been taken up. ● Rameswaram station: The structural works of East/North terminal building, departure forecourt, arrival forecourt, residential tower, sub-station building, desalination plant and sewage treatment plant have been completed. The masonry works of East terminal building, finishing works of North terminal building, departure forecourt, arrival forecourt, residential tower, platform upgradation including platform shelter and revamping of existing waiting hall have been taken up. ● Safdarjung station: The work of signal building, station building, plumbing and firefighting, structural work of operational building up to terrace floor slab, air concourse foundation and pedestals have been completed. The station building electrical and low voltage work, platform refurbishing work, finishing work of operational building, overhead tank and air concourse have been taken up. Further, development/redevelopment/upgradation/modernisation of stations on Indian Railways is a continuous and ongoing process and works in this regard are undertaken as per requirement, subject to inter-se priority and availability of funds. The priority for development / redevelopment / upgradation/modernisation of stations is accorded to higher category of station over lower category of station while sanctioning and executing the works. --9/---9-- Development / Upgradation of railway stations is complex in nature involving safety of passengers & trains and requires various statutory clearances such as fire clearance, heritage, tree cutting, airport clearance etc. The progress also gets affected due to brownfield related challenges such as shifting of utilities (involving water/sewage lines, optical fibre cables, gas pipe lines, power/signal cables, etc.), infringements, operation of trains without hindering passenger movement, speed restrictions due to works carried out in close proximity of tracks and high voltage power lines, etc. and these factors affect the completion time. Development / Upgradation / Modernisation of stations including under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is generally funded under Plan Head-53 'Customer Amenities'. The details of allocation and expenditure under Plan Head-53 are maintained Zonal Railway-wise and not work-wise or station-wise or state-wise. The fund allocation of ₹ 12,118 crore has been made for the financial year 2025- 26 under Plan Head-53 and expenditure (up to October, 2025) of ₹7,253 crore has been incurred so far. *****