Vision 2020 - Transportation Research Group of India

Government of India
Ministry of Railways
(Railway Board)
Realisation of this potential calls for a quantum jump in every dimension, breaking away from the path
of 'incremental change' to one of rapid growth. It also calls for shunning the 'business as usual' mode
of functioning in favour of an organization-wide mindset that is ready to accept bold and innovative ideas
at all levels. The central theme of the Vision is to prepare the Indian Railways for this Big Leap
Forward.
2. NETWORK EXPANSION
The route network of Indian Railways has expanded very slowly in the past. In 1947, Indian Railways
inherited 53,996 of route kms of rail network and today we stand at 64,099 kms - an increase of only
10,000 kms over 62 years. We have to break away from this orbit of low achievement to reach a
higher orbit of ambitious growth. While doubling of lines, gauge conversions, electrification and many
other positive things did happen during the last six decades, the overall expansion of the Indian Railways
to areas it did not serve earlier has been unacceptably slow.
Therefore, the Vision proposes to add 25,000 kms of New Lines by 2020, supported by government
funding and a major increase in Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). Of this, at least 10,000 kms
would be socially desirable lines regardless of their economic viability in the short run. This will, of course,
include the completion of the backlog of 11,985 kms of lines already sanctioned.
This programme would specifically aim at improving the connectivity to our far-flung areas such as
Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and all the States in the North-East, namely,
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya and Sikkim. We also
must not forget smaller States and Union Territories and large districts unconnected by the railways
today.
3. CAPACITY CREATION
The ambitious goals of growth cannot be achieved without creating adequate capacity in the Indian
Railway's network. The Vision aims at a major augmentation of capacity through doubling and
quadrupling of lines, complete segregation of passenger and freight lines on High Density
Network (HDN) routes, substantial segregation on other routes, and electrification on busy trunk
routes.
By 2020
nMore than 30,000 kms of route would be of double/multiple lines (compared to around 18,000
kms today). Of this, more than 6,000 kms would be quadrupled lines with segregation of
passenger and freight services into separate double-line corridors. This shall include Delhi-
Kolkata, Delhi-Mumbai, Kolkata-Mumbai and Delhi-Chennai routes on which Dedicated Freight
Corridors would come.
Maximum speed of passenger trains would be raised from 110 or 130 kmph at present to 160-
200 kmph on these segregated routes and, similarly, maximum speed of freight trains would be
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