Tired of nearly three-hour train journey to Agra? Now you can look forward to reaching the city of the Taj Mahal in just 90 minutes as the railways is set to increase the speed of the Shatabdi Express.
Train journey between Delhi and Agra will be cut short to 90 minutes by the end of the year, Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar said here today.
Railways have given the responsibility of preparing detailed project report for running semi-high speed train on Delhi-Agra and Delhi-Chandigarh route to High-Speed Rail Corporation.
Addressing Global Rail Convention-2014 organized by PHDCCI, Kumar said similar arrangements would follow for Delhi-Chandigarh route also.
The two routes have been selected as a pilot project for running trains at a higher speed up to 160km per hour on the existing track using present engines and coaches.
Currently, the New Delh-Bhopal Shatabdi train picks up speed upto 130 km at certain stretches on Delhi-Agra route. For Chandigarh Shatabdi, the maximum speed ranges between 110 km and 120 Km.
The existing track and rolling stock are capable of withstanding the higher speed and there will be only a minor upgradation of the track as well as coaches and engines besides fencing of track at certain locations.
Keeping in view the tourism potential of Delhi-Agra route, the railways have been planning for long to cut short the journey time between Delhi and Agra.
