Aim to maintain higher speeds of freight trains in 2021: Railway Board head

According to a Rail Ministry presentation, the average speed of a goods train stood at 23.6 kmph in 2019-2020 and rose to 42.9 kmph in 2020-2021

The Indian Railways would want to maintain the higher speed of freight trains attained during 2020 in 2021 as well. According to the Ministry of Railways, freight trains moved twice as fast in 2020, averaging at over 45 kilometres per hour (kmph) in December 2020. This could be attributed to lesser movement of passenger trains amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking at a media interaction to highlight the achievements of the Indian Railways during 2020, Chairman Railway Board, V K Yadav said, “The speed of freight trains in 2020 was almost double from last year (2019). We are planning and making