High-speed rail in India


, India does not have any operational high-speed rail lines capable of supporting more than. Currently, the highest speed is achieved by the Bhopal Shatabdi Express, Gatiman Express, Bhopal Vande Bharat Express and [Hazrat Nizamuddin–Khajuraho Vande Bharat (trainset)|Vande Bharat Express|Khajuraho Vande Bharat Express] on the TughlakabadAgra section and the regional Namo Bharat services with peak operational speed of.
Indian Railways operates India's railway system and comes under the purview of the Ministry of Railways of Government of India., it maintains over of tracks and operates over 13,000 trains daily. According to the Ministry of Railways, a route capable of supporting trains operating at more than is considered as a higher speed or semi-high speed rail line.

Earlier steam locomotive operated trains largely operated below. With the introduction of electric locomotives in the later 1920s and newer steam locomotives, speeds of were achieved. With the movement to AC traction in the late 1950s and introduction of diesel locomotives, commercial speeds of up to was achieved in the late 1960s. With the introduction of high power electric locomotives in the 1990s, operating speeds of was achieved with further developments leading to speeds of maximum speeds of being realized in the early 2010s. Vande Bharat, an Electric Multiple Unit, introduced in 2018, is the fastest operational train-set and is capable of reaching.
The first high-speed railway corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad of about is currently under construction with a designed maximum operational speed of and is expected to be operational fully by 2028-29. As of 2023, eight such corridors have also been proposed.

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 in 57 minutes, averaging a speed of. Earlier trains ran using steam locomotives, where barely reached speeds of. With the introduction of WP class locomotives in 1947, speeds of 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, though trains operated at lower speed. WDM-1, the first diesel locomotive introduced in 1957 was capable of speeds of up to. 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.
In 1960, the Railway Board of India commissioned a study to increase the speed of its trains, which was restricted to on the existent broad gauge lines. A target of with an intermediate stage of was set for passenger trains. Research Design and Standards Organisation 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 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 and completed the trip in 17 hours 20 minutes at an average speed of.
In 1980, the WAP-1 electric locomotives reached a speed of. Shatabdi Express introduced in 1988, were capable of running at a maximum speed of. WAP-5 class locomotives, initially imported from ABB in 1995 and later manufactured at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works in India, reached in trials. The locomotive later set an Indian speed record by hauling a train between Delhi and Agra at a speed of 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, and planning for corridors connecting commercial, tourist, and pilgrimage hubs. On 25 July 2013, Government of India established the [National National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited|High Speed Rail Corporation Limited|High Speed Rail Corporation] under Rail Vikas Nigam 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. In 2018, a modified WAP-5A locomotive, capable of speeds up to was rolled out. HSRC was renamed as National High Speed Rail Corporation 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. In 2019, the first Vande Bharat Express entered commercial service with a maximum operational speed of. The actual operating speed was much lower due to track restrictions and congestion with top speeds restricted to for most trains. In October 2023, Namo Bharat, built for RapidX by Alstom was launched and is capable of reaching speeds of up to. 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.
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, 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 -, 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. 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 is considered as a higher speed or semi-high speed rail line, while the routes operating at less than are considered to be conventional rail lines. According to the International Union of Railways, a commercial speed of over for a newly built line or for an upgraded line is considered to be high-speed.

SpeedTypeLength
>High-speed
Semi-high-speed
Group A
Group B
<Group C/D/E

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 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 standard gauge line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad was approved for construction and is expected to be operational by 2028.

CorridorSpeedLengthGaugeStatus
Mumbai–AhmedabadStandardUnder Construction2028
Delhi–AhmedabadStandardAwaiting Approval2031
Pune–NashikStandardAwaiting ApprovalTBD
Mumbai–HyderabadStandardAwaiting Approval2051
Mumbai–NagpurStandardAwaiting Approval2051
Thiruvananthapuram–KannurStandardAwaiting Approval2031
Delhi-VaranasiStandardDPR Prepared2041
Varanasi–HowrahStandardDPR under preparation2031
Delhi–AmritsarStandardDPR under preparation2051
Chennai–MysuruStandardDPR under preparation2051
Chennai–HyderabdStandardDPR under preparationTBD
Hyderabad–BengaluruStandardProposed2041
Nagpur-VaranasiStandardProposed2041
Amritsar–JammuStandardProposed2051
Patna–GuwahatiStandardProposed2051
Ahmedabad–RajkotStandardProposedTBD
Mumbai–PuneStandardAnnounced in Budget 2026–27TBD
Pune–HyderabadStandardAnnounced in Budget 2026–27TBD
Chennai–BengaluruStandardAnnounced in Budget 2026–27TBD
Varanasi–SiliguriStandardAnnounced in Budget 2026–27TBD
---StandardAnnounced in Budget 2026–27TBD
---StandardAnnounced in Budget 2026–27TBD
---StandardAnnounced in Budget 2026–27TBD


;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.
CorridorSpeedLengthStatus
Delhi–KolkataDPR under preparation2031
Kolkata–ChennaiTBDTBD
Mumbai–ChennaiTBDTBD
Delhi–MumbaiUnder construction2031
Delhi–ChennaiTBDTBD
Mumbai–KolkataTBDTBD

;Super high-speed rail
In 2016, Indian Railways explored the possibility of maglev trains to implement an over- 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. 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 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 segment of track in the TughlakabadAgra Cantonment section supports semi-high speeds of up to., the maximum operational speed of is achieved by Gatimaan Express and Vande Bharat Express on the above section.
;Track upgrades
In 2009, Indian Railways envisioned a plan to increase the speed of passenger trains to on dedicated conventional tracks and improve the existing conventional lines on Broad gauge to handle speeds of up to. 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.
RouteSpeedLengthStatusReference
Tughlakabad–Agra2016Operational
Delhi–Mumbai2024Under upgradation
New Delhi–HowrahTBDApproved
Chennai–GudurTBDDPR submitted
Chennai–ReniguntaTBDDPR submitted
Mumbai–HowrahTBDDPR submitted
Mumbai–ChennaiTBDDPR submitted
Chennai–HowrahTBDDPR submitted
Bengaluru–ChennaiTBDDPR submitted
Chennai–New DelhiTBDDPR submitted
Bengaluru–HyderabadTBDDPR submitted
Chennai–HyderabadTBDDPR submitted
Howrah–PuriTBDDPR submitted

;New tracks
RapidX system operating on 1,435 mm Standard gauge tracks and capable of supporting speeds of up to, became operational with the partial opening of Delhi–Meerut line in 2023.
RouteSpeedLengthStatusReference
Delhi–MeerutPartially operational
Delhi–AlwarUnder construction
Delhi–PanipatApproved
Delhi–RohtakProposed
Delhi–PalwalProposed
Delhi–BarautProposed
Ghaziabad–KhurjaProposed
Ghaziabad–HapurProposed
Delhi–JewarProposed
Hyderabad–WarangalProposed
Hyderabad–VijayawadaProposed
Chengannur–Pamba DPR Submitted, Wating for final approval

Rolling stock

For high-speed rail, the Indian railways will construct bullet train assembly facilities on a public-private participation 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. 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 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 stretch of Mumbai-Ahmedabad line to build such machines. The machine costs around and 30 such machines were required to construct the elevated stretch. On 9 September 2021, India joined four other countries, to possess Full Span Launching Methodology 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. Integral Coach Factory Chennai has been tasked with producing steel body trains capable of 280kmph and in service speed of 250kmph for the bullet train routes.