Chennai: Three of the seven high-density routes that Indian Railways plans to expand to four lanes pass through Chennai. This places the city at the centre of a nearly 11,000km network that carries around 41% of the country’s railway traffic, although these routes account for only 16% of the networkThe seven high-density routes identified are Delhi–Howrah, Howrah–Chennai, Chennai–Mumbai, Mumbai–Delhi, Delhi–Chennai, Mumbai–Howrah and Delhi–Guwahati.Recently, the cabinet committee on economic affairs approved construction of third and fourth lines of a 90km stretch between Gummidipoondi and Gudur, at a cost of about ₹2,229 crore. The project is part of the Howrah–Chennai corridor, where the existing double-line section has a projected line capacity utilisation of 131%. The Centre has also approved the 173km Kharagpur–Bhadrak fourth line and 75km Bhadrak–Haridaspur fourth line as part of efforts to expand capacity along the corridor.Work on the Delhi–Chennai corridor, covering about 2,174km, is also underway, with a 203km third line between Kazipet and Balharshah, costing around ₹3,000 crore, completed in July. A 14km Tadali–Ghugus doubling project in Maharashtra has also been sanctioned at ₹228 crore. The third city-linked route, Chennai–Mumbai, covers about 1,289km.“To reduce the cost of logistics in our country and simultaneously make our transportation green as we grow our economy, we must make sure these important corridors are quadrupled so that the capacity increases,” said railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a video message posted online.According to the railway ministry, the 11,000km network carries a disproportionate share of passenger and freight traffic and is being expanded through a combination of existing four-line stretches, sanctioned work and sections where detailed project reports are under preparation or appraisal.“Compared to road, rail transport is 90% cleaner. It costs about ₹1.6 per tonne per km compared to ₹3.6 per tonne per km on road,” Vaishnaw said.About 25,000 trains run daily across Indian Railways, which carried more than 741 crore passengers in 2025–26. The Delhi–Howrah route handles more than 120 passenger and around 100 freight trains a day, while Delhi–Mumbai carries more than 90 passenger and 80–85 freight trains daily.
