The Indian Railways in the past year introduced several new reforms with the Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024 taking centre stage. The Bill aims to improve operational efficiency and grant autonomy to railway zones. Significantly, in 2024, the electrification of railway lines touched a total of 7,188 km which is around 14.5 kilometres per day. The Railways also completed the construction of the much-awaited New Pamban Bridge, India’s first vertical lift sea bridge which will replace the Pamban Bridge aged 105 years old. Several Vande Bharat express trains were introduced this year. The Vande Bharat Express now operates on over 40 routes nationwide, including special services during festive and winter seasons. In another ‘historic milestone’ as described by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the final track work on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail link (USBRL) project was completed.
Electrification of railway lines: The Indian Railways completed a total of 7,188 km of electrification of lines, which translates to 14.5 km per day. This is the major milestone as compared to the previous fiscal year. In fiscal year 2022-23, the railways completed electrification of 6,565 km.
Hyperloop test track: The first Hyperloop test track was constructed in India in 2024. It is an 11-km facility with a 410-metre test track at the Discovery Campus of IIT Madras in Chennai's Thaiyur suburb. The initiative is a joint effort between Madras's Avishkar Hyperloop team, IIT and TuTr, a startup fostered at the institution.
Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail link: As a major milestone for the railways, the final track work on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link has been completed. It is a significant announcement in providing a rail link to various places of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country. Phase I of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL) project, covering the 118-km-long Qazigund-Baramulla section, was first inaugurated in October 2009 under the Congress-led UPA govt.
Subsequent phases saw the inauguration of the 18 km long Banihal-Qazigund section in June 2013 and the 25-km-long Udhampur-Katra section in July 2014. In February, the first electric train trial run from Banihal to Khari to Sangaldan section on the Banihal-Katra section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project in Ramban was successfully conducted on around 40 km of track and tunnels between Banihal and Sangaldan Railway Stations in Ramban district.
