Railways ramps up speed mission with track upgrades, fencing drive

To make progress in its Mission Raftaar, the Ministry of Railways this financial year is working on further removing speed caps for trains, renewing tracks, and installing fences along railway lines to keep off animals, according to officials in the know.

- DHRUVAKSH SAHA

Two months after the Union Budget and following consultations with all railway zones, the ministry has finalised its performance targets for tracks and track-related works.

The transporter will renew tracks of 7,900 km in FY26. With the introduction of more Vande Bharat trains, which are running at below par average speeds despite being able to cover more than 160 km an hour, the railways is looking to make around 3,700 km fit for trains to speed along at more than 130 km an hour. In FY25, it was targeted that a section of 2,040 route km was to be equipped for 130 km an hour and in FY24 it was nearly 2,400 route km, marking an almost doubling of speed upgrade targets.