Vision 2020 - Transportation Research Group of India

Government of India
Ministry of Railways
(Railway Board)
speed of trains. The current effort to provide fast non-stop train services under the new brand of Duronto will
continue. In addition, the Vision aims at raising the speed of regular passenger trains to 160-200 kmph on
segregated routes, which will bring about a major transformation in train travel. For example, train journey
between Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata will become an overnight service.
The Vision 2020 also envisages the implementation of at least 4 high-speed rail projects to provide bullet
train services at 250-350 kmph, one in each of the regions of the nation and planning for at least 8 more
corridors connecting commercial, tourist and pilgrimage hubs.
Six corridors have already been identified for technical studies on setting up of High Speed Rail Corridors. These
are:
i. Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar;
ii. Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad;
iii. Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijayawada-Chennai;
iv. Howrah-Haldia;
v. Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulam;
vi. Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna
These could be built as elevated corridors in keeping with the pattern of habitation and the constraint of
land in our country. The Railways will use the PPP mode for investment and execution, and draw on frontier
technologies incorporating the highest standards of safety and service quality.
In the next 10 years, we would develop 50 World Class Stations which compare with the best,
internationally. Once redeveloped, these stations would be well-integrated with other modes of transport in the
cities and easy to access and use. There would be no congestion.
galleries, and a variety of other attractions would make the passengers' stay pleasant and memorable. In
other words, these stations would go beyond being mere transport hubs. They would become vibrant centres of
the life of the cities, for commerce, entertainment and social space. They would also become major tourist
attractions, as is happening with redesigned railway stations in many parts of the world. In addition, at least 200
All this would be achieved using the PPP route, for which an attractive enabling policy and implementation
structure will be presented shortly.
Our Catering services must ensure availability of hygienically prepared and nutritionally balanced food to
passengers and cater to the diversity of India's palate and pocket. To achieve these goals, railway catering
services will soon undergo major reform.
Large, well-designed passenger
concourses with adequate and high-quality waiting space easily accessible to platforms, conference
halls, business centres, retail shops, restaurants, entertainment and cultural facilities, museums and art
large stations would be developed to provide multifarious facilities like offices, retail, entertainment,
restaurants, theatres, hotels, and health and education services.
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