(a) whether the Government has any proposal to reduce the travel timings from Delhi to Howrah and Mumbai;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the estimated cost of the project and the expected tenure of completion;
(d) whether such travels are costlier than the existing fares; and
(e) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY
(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)
(a) to (c): Yes, Sir. Two projects for raising of speed to 160 kilometer per hour (kmph) on existing corridors of New Delhi-Mumbai (Including Vadodara-Ahmedabad) and New Delhi-Howrah (including Kanpur-Lucknow) are under consideration at estimated cost of ` 13491.25 crore.
This will reduce the travel time of premium Rajdhani type trains to 12 hours as against the present travel time of 15 hours 30 minutes for Mumbai Rajdhani and 17 hours for Howrah Rajdhani.
No time frame can be indicated at this stage before the projects are approved.
(d) & (e): It is premature to indicate cost of travel.
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