Indian Railways Plans Four-Laning of 11,000 km High-Density Network

Why in News?

Indian Railways announced plans to add tracks on about 11,000 km of its busiest corridors to increase capacity and reduce congestion.

Why are these routes being expanded?

• The seven high-density corridors make up a relatively small share of the rail network but carry a disproportionately large share of traffic.
• Adding additional tracks can separate and increase passenger and freight capacity, reducing bottlenecks on routes such as Delhi–Howrah and Delhi–Mumbai.
• The expansion is being paired with deployment of Kavach, India's indigenous Automatic Train Protection system.

Exam Connect

• Kavach → indigenous Automatic Train Protection system
• Kavach → developed by RDSO
• High-density corridors → major passenger and freight routes