Railways to quadruple capacity across 11,000 km of key routes carrying 41% of traffic

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has outlined plans to four-lane seven high-density rail routes that carry a major share of the country’s total rail traffic. Spread across nearly 11,000 km, these routes account for around 41% of total railway traffic while covering just 16% of the railway network.

The high-density routes include Delhi-Howrah, Howrah-Chennai, Chennai-Mumbai, Mumbai-Delhi, Delhi-Chennai, Mumbai-Howrah and Delhi-Guwahati. The proposed expansion will involve creating four railway lines across these corridors, allowing trains to operate with greater frequency and reducing pressure on sections that currently handle heavy passenger and freight movement.

Under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian Railways is moving towards four-laning the entire high-density network to increase capacity and support the growing movement of passengers and freight across the country.

Vaishnaw highlighted the expansion as part of the government’s broader efforts to strengthen railway infrastructure and prepare the network for future growth in both passenger and freight traffic. The minister also pointed to the environmental and economic advantages of rail transport, saying greater railway capacity could support cleaner mobility while helping lower transportation costs.