Railways to upgrade terminals, sections for doubling capacity
New Delhi: In addition to its long-term goal of meeting the growing demand for passenger transport, Indian Railways has developed an ambitious plan to double originating train capacities in major cities by 2030. The vision focuses on significantly enhancing existing railway infrastructure and developing new facilities to meet future demand. Rail officials emphasise that major urban centres must double their train originating capacities within the next five years to keep up with rising passenger numbers.
For this, a radical makeover and enhancement of the infrastructure network for these cities has been conceptualised. For this, not only terminal stations but the entire transport chain network related to the terminals has been kept in mind. Some of the main key points in this regard have been the enhancement of the existing terminals through the addition of new platforms, stabling lines, pit lines, and enhanced shunting facilities. Parallel to this, new terminals will be short-listed by the Indian Railways in or around the urban agglomeration of the cities, aiming for a more equitable flow of traffic without congesting the main hubs. There will be a vast improvement in the maintenance infrastructures, including new ambitious coaching maintenance facilities or mega coaching complexes.
Enhancement of sectional capacities forms an essential part of this scheme. This would require various works on traffic facilities, signalling, and multitracking on strategic sites in order to provide for an efficient flow of a greater number of trains. Railway planners have been clear in stating that a scheme for terminals would in itself be inadequate unless bottlenecks on sections, yards, and adjacent stations are removed contemporaneously.
The exercise is to include both suburban as well as non-suburban sections while having in mind the different requirements of the two sections. A thorough plan is presently being drawn up for 48 major cities. The plan is to merge works already planned, proposed, or sanctioned to increase train handling capacities to twice their present level.
Although it is targeted to double the capacity by 2030, it was clarified by railway authorities that capacity augmentation would be carried out step by step over a period of five years to enable passengers to benefit from it as soon as possible. An action plan would divide projects into short-term, long-term, and immediate schemes.
In addition to individual stations, Zonal Railways have been advised to draw up division-wise schemes for improving the capacity for handling trains on their networks. This is in relation to optimising the capacity addition opportunity by tackling bottlenecks at stations, yards, and sections.
Speaking to this effect is the Union Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, who said that this move is in line with the commitment towards improving railway infrastructure to meet the increasing demand. “We’re enhancing coaching terminal capacity, sectional capacity, and operational capacity in different cities due to increasing demand,” he said.
The vast capacity augmentation plan will prove to be an important factor for enhancing passenger convenience and ensuring that the Indian Railways network remains equipped to handle the mobility needs of the country.
