Railways plan to enhance goods trains speed from 65 to 100 kmph -Governance Now

Railways plan to enhance goods trains speed from 65 to 100 kmph

The railways say a major boost has been given to wagon production to increase non-bulk freight commodities from 100 million tonnes to one billion tonnes

Vishwas Dass | February 28, 2019 | Delhi

#Rajesh Agrawal #revenue #speed #goods train #Railways #freight trains

Railway board member (rolling stock) Rajesh Agrawal

The railways are making concerted efforts to significantly enhance the speed of freight trains from 65 kmph to 100 kmph for raising revenue and give a fillip to the goods segment.

Railway board member (rolling stock) Rajesh Agrawal told Governance Now at the ministry that more wagons are being manufactured like never before to meet the requirements and give a major impetus to the freight.

Agrawal said currently the loaded wagons run at about 65 kmph and there is an immediate plan to operate goods trains at 75 kmph and in future if the tracks are upgraded/modified, the speed would be enhanced to 100 kmph.

He said there are plans afoot to run non-stop goods trains on Delhi-Varanasi and Delhi-Mumbai sections at 100 kmph. As per specifications, in few sections goods trains can be operated at 100 kmph but not many stretches allow operations of freight trains at such high speeds.

“It has happened for the first time that so many wagons are available every day for bulk commodities loading in the history of Indian Railways. For non-bulk freight commodities like cars, steel coils, fly ash and cement, we have ramped up the loading which is around 100 million tonnes and the target is to scale it up to one billion tonnes,” Agrawal said.

He said the rolling stock wing is ready to give the wagons, designs and investment to run these freight trains. He said the traffic department should utilise these wagons to the optimum. What you need is not the highways but the fast railways. We are bringing in transformational changes in four areas- freight, production of workshops, environment and housekeeping. Never before the railways had these standards of cleanliness have happened in the railways, he said.

Comments

Other News

Who checks the books?

I read about the news about the Coimbatore library over coffee this morning. On the face of it, the headline was about a political ‘war’ between the DMK and TVK. But what stayed with me was something much more important than the blame game behind what had transpired. A writer walking through

Development paradox: Falling poverty miracle and an inequality problem

India’s reduction in poverty over the past decade is a development achievement of considerable significance. The World Bank’s April 2026 ‘India Development Update’ estimates that the share of Indians living below the international extreme-poverty line of $3.00 per person per day i

In Arunachal, a river we call mother

In Arunachal Pradesh, the Siang is not just a river. For many of us, especially the Adi people, it is part of our family. Our grandparents fished in it. Children learned to swim in it. Our farms drink from it. When someone says a huge dam will be built on it, we do not hear the word "project".

A new retelling of the Mahabharata delves into key moments

In a time when every decision carries consequences and questions of ambition, power, loyalty, identity and moral choice continue to shape our lives, Dr. Arun Krishnan’s new book, ‘Mahakshana’ (Penguin India) offers a strikingly relevant retelling of the Mahabharata.

Cabinet approves viability gap funding to develop grid-scale energy storage systems

The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme for Development of Grid-Scale Energy Storage Systems, with a total financial support of Rs.14,500 crore for the period FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31. The scheme aims to support the development o

Cabinet creates a pathway to absorb Agniveers in Defence Forces

An objective assessment in terms of organisational requirements and operational efficiency has brought out the outstanding performance of Agniveers in terms of skills, motivation levels, physical fitness and technological prowess. As envisaged earlier, based on merit, 25% of Agniveers will be offered reg