New Delhi: Travel time between Bhubaneswar and New Delhi is set to reduce by at least two hours if you are a passenger of the premium Rajdhani express.
The Bhubaneswar Rajdhani will be among those flagship trains which will benefit from the Centre’s ambitious move to raise the speed of the Howrah-New Delhi and Mumbai-New Delhi section to 160 kmph at a cost of over Rs 6,806 crore. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had recently given its nod to the proposal and the Railway Ministry on Wednesday officially announced approval of the project.
How will Bhubaneswar Rajdhani benefit?
Bhubaneswar Rajdhani (via Tatanagar and Adra) travel on the Howrah-New Delhi corridor for a good 1162 km out the total route 1801 km. With the tracks being upgraded, the travel time between Bhubaneswar and New Delhi will come down by around two hours once the 160 kmph track is made operational in the coming three to four years, sources in Railways said.
At present, the train touches a maximum speed of 130 kmph on this stretch and takes 24 hours (via Adra) and between 25-26 hours (via Tatanagar and Sambalpur) to reach New Delhi. It is operated by the accident-proof LHB coaches, capable to traverse the distance at 160 kmph. The Puri-New Delhi Purshottam is the other train operated by LHB rakes.
The travel time between Howrah and New Delhi by Howrah and Sealdah Rajdhani trains will come down from 17 to 12 hours consequently, sources said.
Track upgradation…
To raise the speed, key inputs such as fencing will be carried out along the route with the removal of level crossing, upgrading the track structure, advanced/modern signalling systems and power supply augmentation.
Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai routes carry 29 per cent of passenger traffic and 20 per cent of freight traffic. However, only 0.3 per cent (185 km) of the route, currently, is fit for 160 Kmph and only 5 per cent of the route for 120-130 Kmph.
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