News Brief
Indian Railways Now Has About 80,000 Km Of Tracks Supporting Speeds Of 110 Kmph and Above, Up From 31,000 Km In 2014
The new orange colour Vande Bharat train (Representative Image)
The Indian Railways has expanded the length of tracks capable of supporting speeds of 110 kmph and above from 31,000 km in 2014 to 80,000 km at present, the government has informed the Lok Sabha.
In response to a question in the Lok Sabha on the reasons behind the slowdown in the average speed of Vande Bharat trains over the years, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said,"Vande Bharat coaches are designed to operate up to speed of 160 kmph. However, the speed of a train depends not only on type of rolling stock but also on track structure available along the route".
"Upgradation and improvement of track infrastructure is a continuous and ongoing process over Indian Railways. In 2014, speed potential of only about 31,000 km of track was 110 kmph and above, which has significantly been improved to about 80,000 km at present," he added.
According to Vaishnaw, the Railways has implemented the following measures to upgrade railway tracks:
Modern track structure consisting of 60 kg, 90 ultimate tensile strength (UTS) rails, pre-stressed concrete sleeper (PSC) normal/wide base sleepers with elastic fastening, fan-shaped layout turnout on PSC sleepers, steel channel/H-beam sleepers on girder bridges have been used while carrying out primary track renewals.
The thick web switches and weldable CMS crossing have been used in turnout renewal works.
Supply of 130 m/260 m long rail panels has been increased to avoid welding of joints, thereby improving safety.
Adoption of a mechanized system for track maintenance using high-output plain tampers and points and crossing tampers for improved maintainability and reliability of the track.
Deployment of state-of-the-art modern machines, including rail grinding machines manufactured in India on the railway network to further improve asset reliability.
Mechanisation of track laying activity through the use of track machines like PQRS, TRT, T-28, etc.
Interlocking of level crossing (LC) gates for enhancing safety at LC gates.
Ultrasonic flaw detection (USFD) testing of rails to detect flaws and timely removal of defective rails.
Monitoring of track geometry by OMS (oscillation monitoring system) and TRC (track recording cars).
