High-speed rail in India

History

The history of the Indian Railway began in 1832 with the proposal to construct the first railway line in India at Madras. In 1837, the first train ran on Red Hill railway line between Red Hills and Chintadripet in Madras and was hauled by a rotary steam engine imported from England. In 1853, the first passenger train ran between Bombay and Thane which covered a distance of 54 km in 57 minutes, averaging a speed of 57 kph. Earlier trains ran using steam locomotives, where barely reached speeds of 90 kph. With the introduction of WP class locomotives in 1947, speeds of 100 kph were operated commercially. While the first electric train ran in Bombay in 1925 on DC traction, WCP-1 class electric locomotives were introduced in 1928, capable of speeds of up to 137 kph, though trains operated at lower speed. WDM-1, the first diesel locomotive introduced in 1957 was capable of speeds of up to 104 kph. In 1957, Indian Railways adopted 25 kV 50 Hz AC traction with the first runs beginning in December 1959 with the WAM-1 locomotives, capable of reaching speeds of up to 112 kph.

In 1960, the Railway Board of India commissioned a study to increase the speed of its trains, which was restricted to 96 kph on the existent broad gauge lines. A target of 160 kph with an intermediate stage of 120 kph was set for passenger trains. Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) started work on the same in 1962 with field trials commencing in 1967. The coaches were manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory at Madras and hauled by diesel locomotives. On 19 February 1969, the Government of India announced the introduction of a new express train capable of reaching speeds of up to 120 kph in the railway budget. On 1 March 1969, the first Rajdhani Express was flagged off from New Delhi to Howrah, which reached a maximum speed of 120 kph and completed the 1450 km trip in 17 hours 20 minutes at an average speed of 84 kph.

In 1980, the WAP-1 electric locomotives reached a speed of 130 kph. Shatabdi Express introduced in 1988, were capable of running at a maximum speed of 130 kph. WAP-5 class locomotives, initially imported from ABB in 1995 and later manufactured at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works in India, reached 184 kph in trials. The locomotive later set an Indian speed record by hauling a train between Delhi and Agra at a speed of 160 kph in 2014. In December 2009, the Ministry of Railways of Government of India envisaged the implementation of regional high-speed rail projects to provide services at 250–350 kph, and planning for corridors connecting commercial, tourist, and pilgrimage hubs. On 25 July 2013, Government of India established the High Speed Rail Corporation under Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) for the implementation of high-speed rail corridor projects. In 2014, the Diamond Quadrilateral high speed rail project, which would connect the cities of Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai via high-speed rail was approved by the government.

In April 2016, the WAP-5 hauled Gatimaan Express became the fastest commercial train in India, with a maximum operational speed of 160 kph. In 2018, a modified WAP-5A locomotive, capable of speeds up to 200 kph was rolled out. HSRC was renamed as National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC) in 2016. NHSRC identified eight corridors for the development of high speed railway. Construction of the Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor, India's first high-speed rail corridor started in 2021 and is expected to be operational by 2028.

In 2018, Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, rolled out a semi-high-speed EMU train-set, capable of reaching 180 kph. In 2019, the first Vande Bharat Express entered commercial service with a maximum operational speed of 160 kph. The actual operating speed was much lower due to track restrictions and congestion with top speeds restricted to 130 kph for most trains. In October 2023, Namo Bharat, built for RapidX by Alstom was launched and is capable of reaching speeds of up to 180 kph. In December 2023, two modified WAP-5 locomotives were used to haul the Amrit Bharat train-set in a push-pull configuration, capable of reaching speeds of up to 160 kph.

In June 2024, the Indian Government announced that rather than purchase the now legacy E5 Series Shinkansen sets, contracted, in 2016, for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor, its own, government owned, Integral Coach Factory and BEML, would produce a pair of standard gauge trains, capable of a maximum operational speed of 250 kph, for the line. The first prototype is expected to be delivered in December 2026.

In April 2025, it was reported that Japan will gift India two retired engineering train sets, one, 2011, E5 - (Doctor Yellow), and the, 2001, E3 - Class E926 Shinkansen, to help test and inspect the under-construction Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor. The two train sets are to be delivered in 2026, to aid the 2027-2028 commissioning of the line. The gifted Doctor Yellow will have a maximum operational speed of 285 kph. It was also reported that the Indian Government has a desire to purchase E10 Series Shinkansen for the corridor.

Definition

According to the Ministry of Railways, a route where train can operate between 160-200 kph is considered as a higher speed or semi-high speed rail line, while the routes operating at less than 160 kph are considered to be conventional rail lines. According to the International Union of Railways (IUC), a commercial speed of over 250 kph for a newly built line or 200 kph for an upgraded line is considered to be high-speed.

Network and infrastructure

High-speed rail

As of 2026, India does not have any operational high-speed tracks. In 2016, Ministry of Railways envisaged to have top speeds of 300–350 kph with trains running on elevated corridors to isolate high-speed train tracks to prevent trespassing. Multiple feasibility studies have been done and probable routes have been identified. In 2017, a 508 km standard gauge line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad was approved for construction and is expected to be operational by 2028.

;Diamond Quadrilateral

In 2014, the Diamond Quadrilateral high-speed rail network project was launched by Government of India and is envisioned to connect the four major metro cities of India namely: Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.

;Super high-speed rail In 2016, Indian Railways explored the possibility of maglev trains to implement an over-500 km/h speed rail system. In February 2019, a train model based upon the same was unveiled by Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology capable of speeds of up to 600 kph. In September 2020, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited signed a pact with SwissRapide AG for the implementation of MagLev metro systems in India.

While there are no operational hyperloop systems in the world, testing has been done and a few routes have been proposed. Hyperloop One submitted a detailed project report in January 2018 for Mumbai to Pune. Virgin Hyperloop signed a MoU with Government of Punjab in 2019 for building a rail to cover total 226 km distance between Amritsar and Chandigarh. Hyperloop One signed a MoU with Government of Karnataka to conduct a feasibility study on the Bengaluru-Chennai route in 2017. Zeleros proposed a vision for a hyperloop network in India by 2050, connecting main cities.

Semi-high speed rail

A 174 km segment of track in the TughlakabadAgra Cantonment section supports semi-high speeds of up to 160 kph. , the maximum operational speed of 160 kph is achieved by Gatimaan Express and Vande Bharat Express on the above section.

;Track upgrades (Broad gauge) In 2009, Indian Railways envisioned a plan to increase the speed of passenger trains to 160-200 kph on dedicated conventional tracks and improve the existing conventional lines on Broad gauge to handle speeds of up to 160 kph. Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India has built dedicated freight corridors across India to divert cargo traffic from the passenger railway tracks, thus helping increase the operational speed of the passenger trains to 160 kph.

;New tracks RapidX system operating on 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Standard gauge tracks and capable of supporting speeds of up to 180 kph, became operational with the partial opening of Delhi–Meerut line in 2023.

Rolling stock

For high-speed rail, the Indian railways will construct bullet train assembly facilities on a public-private participation (PPP) model. As per NHSRCL, Japanese companies will set up manufacturing facilities in India to build the parts for bullet train sets. For semi-high speed rail, Indian Railways had already rolled out Train 18 in 2018. These self-propelled EMU train sets manufactured by Integral Coach Factory are capable of reaching 180 km/h. These trains have eight or sixteen coaches with driver cabins on both ends, which eliminates the time needed for turnaround at the terminal station with faster acceleration and deceleration, enabling the train to travel at a top speed for longer distance.

Construction

Mega carrier and launcher machines or transporter, gantry, and full span launcher machines are machines used to construct viaducts (elevated structures) for bullet train corridors in China. These vehicles carry an entire girder by traveling on already launched girders to place the next one. The speed was several times faster compared to India's conventional girder launching mechanism, with the Chinese machine laying two girders a day on an average compared to one and a half girders in a week by the Indian counterpart. NHSRCL then asked L&T which was constructing the 325 km stretch of Mumbai-Ahmedabad line to build such machines. The machine costs around and 30 such machines were required to construct the 465 km elevated stretch. On 9 September 2021, India joined four other countries, to possess Full Span Launching Methodology (FSLM) technology after L&T was able to develop the machine successfully. NHSRCL planned to acquire 20 such machines initially for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project in order to speed up construction. These machines could be later deployed to build viaducts for elevated roads and rapid transit systems across India.

Research

National Academy of Indian Railways, Vadodara was established in 2018 with the aim of developing indigenously high-speed train manufacturing technology. Other institutions focused on Railway technology research and development are: IIT BHU Malviya Centre for Railway Technology, IIT Kharagpur Centre for Railways Research and Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO). Integral Coach Factory(ICF) Chennai has been tasked with producing steel body trains capable of 280kmph and in service speed of 250kmph for the bullet train routes.

Records

Notes

References

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