- By Priyanka Koul
- Fri, 26 Dec 2025 10:28 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
To address the rapidly increasing passenger demand, Indian Railways has announced plans to double the train origination capacity at key cities within the next five years, aiming for completion by 2030. The Ministry of Railways has identified 48 major cities as part of this expansion initiative.
This initiative seeks to alleviate congestion at busy stations, enhance operational efficiency, and strengthen rail connectivity across the nation.
"In view of the rapid sustained growth in demand for travel, the capacity of major cities to originate new trains needs to be doubled from the current level in the next 5 years. The current infrastructure serving needs to be augmented so as to meet the requirements of upcoming years," the Ministry of Railways stated.
The expansion will cover both suburban and non-suburban traffic, taking into account the unique needs of each category. A detailed plan for the 48 cities is currently under review, which will encompass ongoing, proposed, or already sanctioned projects to meet the goal of doubling train handling capacity within a set timeframe, the Railways Ministry added.
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The cities involved include Delhi, Mumbai (Central and Western Railways), Kolkata (including Eastern Railways, South Eastern Railways, and Kolkata Metro), Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and Pune.
Other key cities in the northern and central regions include Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Agra, Mathura, Ayodhya, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Indore, Bhopal, Ujjain, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jammu, and Bareilly.
In the eastern and northeastern parts of India, the cities identified for capacity enhancement include Patna, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Gaya, Ranchi, Tatanagar, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Guwahati, and Kolkata.
The southern and western regions are represented by cities such as Nagpur, Vadodara, Surat, Madgaon, Cochin, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati, Mysore, and Coimbatore.
The expansion plan focuses on augmenting existing railway terminals by adding new platforms, stabling lines, pit lines, and shunting facilities. In parallel, new coaching terminals will be developed in and around urban areas, along with the creation of advanced maintenance facilities such as mega coaching complexes, the Railways Ministry added.
( With ANI Inputs )