Delhi-Mumbai Rail Corridor Gears Up for 160 kmph Under Mission Raftaar

Indian Railways is pressing ahead with infrastructure upgrades on the New Delhi-Mumbai corridor to enable train operations at speeds of up to 160 kmph, part of its Mission Raftaar push to cut journey times on one of the country's busiest routes. The broader aim is to bring travel time between the two cities down towards 12 hours.

The work spans traction and power supply, overhead equipment, signalling and telecommunications, yard remodelling, and related civil and mechanical tasks. A key stretch in focus is the 84 Route Kilometre Palwal-Mathura section, which carries around 336 Track Kilometres and is being readied for higher-speed operations.

According to Dr Shivam Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer of North Central Railway, the latest milestone was the charging of the new 2×25 kV Chhata Traction Substation in the Agra Division on September 7. Other power supply installations already energised include Kosikalan SP, Mathura SP and Sholaka SSP.

Further commissioning is lined up at several locations. Vrindavan SSP is in final testing, while Kotwan SSP is targeted for final testing by September 15. The Hodal and Ajhai facilities are scheduled for commissioning during September, the RDE TSS is targeted for September 25, and the Rundhi TSS along with its transmission line is planned for grid integration in October.

A centralised monitoring layer is also being added through SCADA integration, which will let authorities remotely oversee and control the power supply network from the Agra control hub once the network is operational.

On the Mathura-Bhuteshwar section, attention is on completing Auxiliary Earth Conductor work, mast erection and station-area commissioning. The Phase-II yard remodelling at Mathura and Bhuteshwar involves building a new UP line and a fourth line, along with cut-connection work in the Bhuteshwar yard. The zonal railway is coordinating across departments with a September 30, 2026 target for the key works.

Once the remaining infrastructure is in place, the section will move closer to the stage where high-speed trials can begin. For passengers, the planned 160 kmph operations are intended to reduce travel time and improve efficiency on the corridor.