NEW DELHI: The Indian Railways has said that it has speeded up around 260 trains as a part of its Mission Raftaar, which aims to double the average speed of freight trains and increase the average speed of all non-suburban passenger trains by 25 kmph in the next five years.
According to the railways, the speeding up will be around 110 minutes and would be reflected from July 1.
“Forty-nine new trains, which have already been introduced, have been added in the new time table. They include Vande Bharat Express train, 34 Humsafar Express trains, 11 Antyodaya Express trains, two Tejas Express trains and one Uday Express trains,” a senior railway official said.
The national transporter has replaced 141 short distance passenger trains, especially having reversal en route, by Mainline Electric Multiple Units (MEMUs) and Diesel Electric Multiple Units (DEMUs) in 2018-2019, thereby increasing the overall mobility of the system.
Giving priority to passengers’ comfort and safety, 411 pairs of long-distance trains are now fitted with Linke Hofman Busch (LHB) coaches.
Mission Raftaar was announced in the Railway Budget 2016-17.