Indian Railways will quadruple seven major trunk routes to ease congestion, reduce delays and address long waiting lists for passengers, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. The expansion will focus on routes carrying substantial freight and passenger traffic.

Vaishnaw said heavy freight movement, particularly coal, along with high passenger demand, had placed existing railway lines under peak pressure. He said the present congestion was linked to increased movement of coal and other goods, making additional capacity necessary across the network.

The minister said 36,000 km of additional tracks had been laid over the past decade. However, he said further construction and capacity expansion were required to provide a permanent solution to congestion rather than relying only on short-term operational measures.

The government has prioritised four-laning of key national routes forming the Golden Quadrilateral, which connects Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. The programme also covers the diagonal corridors linking Delhi with Chennai, Mumbai with Kolkata and Delhi with Guwahati.

The planned expansion is intended to separate or better accommodate freight and passenger movements on heavily used routes. By increasing the number of tracks, Indian Railways aims to improve train operations, reduce delays and create additional room for services on corridors experiencing sustained demand.

The announcement comes as the railway network manages high passenger traffic alongside significant freight requirements, particularly the movement of coal. The focus on the seven corridors reflects the government’s effort to address capacity constraints through large-scale infrastructure expansion and improve the reliability of train services.