Hyderabad: A journey that now tests the patience of train travellers between Hyderabad and Vijayawada could soon become a swift, near-flight time dash. South Central Railway (SCR) is planning a major upgrade of tracks along the Golden Diagonal (GD) corridor to support speeds of up to 160 kmph, potentially cutting travel time to under three hours.If cleared, the semi high-speed corridor — currently operational only on select routes such as Delhi-Agra and Delhi-Meerut — will be the first-of-its-kind in South India. Railway officials expect the upgraded infrastructure to be ready within two years of the proposal receiving approval.SCR sources said the speed enhancement would bring down journey time from the present four to five hours taken by most superfast express trains. Key stretches identified for the upgrade include Secunderabad-Kazipet, Kazipet-Vijayawada, Duvvada-Vijayawada and Vijayawada-Gudur — corridors that already host premium services such as Vande Bharat trains.Officials confirmed that a detailed proposal has been sent to the Centre seeking permission to upgrade high density routes from the current 130 kmph to 160 kmph. “Works are being taken up on the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ), GD and other high density routes to enhance speeds from the existing 130 kmph to 160 kmph, particularly on corridors that already operate premium services such as Vande Bharat and Duronto express trains,” said a senior SCR official.Frequent flyers point out that air travel between Hyderabad and Vijayawada already takes nearly three hours door-to-door — about an hour to reach Hyderabad airport, one hour in the air, and another 40 minutes to an hour to reach Vijayawada city.“In comparison, Vande Bharat and Duronto trains take around four hours from Secunderabad, while other express services take close to five hours,” said K Vishwanath Rao, a regular traveller on the route.With the proposed speed upgrade, rail travel time between the two cities is expected to drop to around three hours, making trains a faster and more convenient option for journeys within a 350-km radius. The move is also expected to reduce at least an hour off existing rail travel times across key corridors.“Upgrading tracks to higher speeds would not only reduce journey times but also help operate more trains efficiently. Our zone has several GD and GQ sections. Earlier, it took nearly two years to upgrade tracks from 110 kmph to 130 kmph. It could take around two years for upgrading the tracks to 160 kmph, once the works are grounded,” the senior official said.SCR had earlier upgraded several high density routes during 2022-23 to permit speeds of up to 130 kmph, enabling faster operations of Vande Bharat, Rajdhani and Duronto services. At present, 1,834 km — about 28% of SCR’s 6,560 route km — is cleared for 130 kmph operations.The new plan aims to push the envelope further by upgrading around 2,500 km of crucial stretches to handle speeds of up to 160 kmph, sources said.
