NEW DELHI: The Railways will take up pre-feasibility studies for construction of one high-speed passenger corridor each in the northern, western, southern and eastern regions for trains running at between 300 and 500 kmph. Another decision is to undertake a pre-feasibility study and engineering-cum-traffic surveys for taking up freight corridors along the Golden Quadrilateral.

These are highlighted in the "Report to the People 2004-07" prepared by the Railways and released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on completion of three years of UPA rule.

Railway Ministry officials say rolling stock production will be doubled during the 11th Plan period. One new factory each for coaches, diesel locomotives, electric locomotives and wheels will be established.

The electrified network will be extended over the Golden Quadrilateral and its diagonals, and in all directions from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Guwahati to Amritsar. Over the past two and a half years, freight volumes have grown by 8-10 per cent and the growth in passenger volumes has doubled.

Infrastructure development through public-private partnerships is being promoted. A dozen parties have responded positively to the offer to allow private container trains.

Preliminary work on the dedicated rail freight corridors has begun and container business has been opened to the private sector. Increase in the axle load, coupled with a reduction in wagon turnaround time from seven to five days, has contributed to an incremental loading capacity of 120 million tonnes, resulting in incremental revenues.

In order to meet the transport demand of the economy and industry on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata trunk routes, building of two connected, dedicated multimodal freight corridors has been taken up on a fast-track basis through a special purpose vehicle, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited, at an estimated cost of Rs. 30,000 crore.

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