Soon, semi high speed trains between Lucknow, Kanpur

LUCKNOW : The journey between Lucknow and Kanpur will soon take less time, as the Railways is set to introduce semi high speed trains on the route. Officials said the semi high speed trains would reduce the journey time to 35 minutes, bringing both the cities ‘closer’.

Presently, the journey to Kanpur from Lucknow by train takes 1.40 hours or even more. “The initiative will make the journey fast and more convenient for passengers, especially the working and business classes who travel on a daily basis,” a senior railway official said. Officials said the existing trains, including passenger and superfast, plied at the speed of 70 to 80 km per hour whereas the semi high speed train would run at 140kmph. “Increased train speed will bring down the journey

PRESENTLY, THE JOURNEY TO KANPUR FROM LUCKNOW BY TRAIN TAKES 1.40 HOURS OR EVEN MORE

time to 40 minutes,” said Shivendra Shukla, senior divisional manager (DCM) Northern Railways (NR). The Railways has launched an exercise to replace the existing regular tracks with ‘semi high speed tracks’, strong enough to sustain the load of semi high speed train. Some officials said the new tracks and sleepers were heavy duty, heavier than the regular ones. “The weight of regular tracks is around 52 kg whereas the weight of high speed train tracks is around 60kg. The same is the case with the sleepers,” said another senior official.

Old pandol clips, fish plates and other track fittings are also being replaced. The work is expected to get completed in the next six months. Officials said the Railway Board had given clearance to half of the stations for this change. These stations include Ganga ghat, Magarwara, Sonik, from Ajgain to Jaitipur and others. Presently, the work to replace the track on the Ganga ghat railway bridge is going on a war footing. To recall, the Railways launched its modernisation programme in 2002, increasing a large numbers of trains. But not many efforts were made to change the age old tracks. Sources said that the dilapidated tracks were more prone to cracks that could be fatal. In some train accidents, cracked railway tracks could not be ruled out as the possible reason behind the mishaps. However, after replacement of the tracks and sleepers, commuting is expected to be safer and faster.