NEW DELHI: In an ambitious move, Indian Railways is making significant progress towards four-laning the entire high-density railway network, which carries a major share of the country’s total rail traffic throughout the year.
There are seven high-density rail routes connecting almost all major metropolitan cities with the national capital and other key cities such as Mumbai, Chennai and Howrah, carrying massive passenger and freight traffic year-round.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while outlining the significance of these seven high-density rail routes on Wednesday, said that infrastructure is being developed to provide four railway lines across these routes.
Elaborating on the scale and significance of the seven high-density railway routes, Vaishnaw said the routes span nearly 11,000 km and account for around 41% of total railway traffic while covering just 16% of the railway network.
“Under the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji, Indian Railways is moving towards four-laning the entire high-density network to increase capacity and support the growing movement of passengers and freight across the country,” the Railway Minister asserted while highlighting the connectivity provided by these routes.
Detailing the four-laning works, the Railway Minister further said, “The ongoing expansion work is aimed at creating four railway lines across the high-density network, helping increase capacity on some of the busiest routes in the country.” He also underlined the environmental and economic advantages of rail transport.
He said the expansion of these high-density routes is significant as it will create additional capacity across the railway network and support the future growth of passenger and freight traffic. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji, the four-laning of these key routes is part of a larger effort to build a railway network with greater capacity, lower transport costs and cleaner mobility,” he asserted.
The seven high-density routes comprise Delhi–Howrah, Howrah–Chennai, Chennai–Mumbai, Mumbai–Delhi, Delhi–Chennai, Mumbai–Howrah and Delhi–Guwahati. These routes connect some of the country’s biggest cities and regions.
Of the seven high-density routes, the Delhi–Howrah and Delhi–Mumbai rail routes facilitate the operation of express trains at speeds of up to 160 kmph.
On the Delhi–Howrah high-density route alone, more than 120 passenger trains and around 100 freight trains operate daily. On the Delhi–Mumbai high-density route, more than 90 passenger trains and around 80–85 freight trains operate every day.
The Delhi–Howrah high-density route covers around 1,400 km, while the Delhi–Mumbai high-density route extends for approximately 1,500 km.
Both are among the two major and busiest routes of the Golden Quadrilateral of Indian Railways. The Howrah–Chennai route covers around 1,653 km, while the Delhi–Chennai high-density route spans approximately 2,174 km.
The Chennai–Mumbai route covers around 1,289 km. It may be noted that around 25,000 trains operate daily across the Indian railway network, while Indian Railways transported more than 741 crore passengers during 2025–26.
