3 min readFeb 6, 2026 02:44 PM IST
First published on: Feb 6, 2026 at 11:57 AM IST
Indian Railways train speed, Indian Railways Train Speed in India: A Parliamentary committee has raised concerns over the lack of increase in the speeds of long-distance trains over the years. In its report ‘Punctuality and Travel Time in Train Operations in Indian Railways’, tabled in Parliament on February 4, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said that it fails to understand why the speeds of long-distance trains covering over 2,000 km have not increased over the years.
“The Committee note that while High-speed / Super Fast and Express trains are using the same track, it fails to understand why the speed of long distance trains which have 2000 KM more distance has not increased over the years.,” the PAC report reads.
It further added that the targets for higher speeds of coaching and freight trains were fixed multiple times between 1960 and 2016-17, but despite repeated timeline revisions, the goals have not been met.
“The Committee note from audit observation that the target of achieving 160 Kmph speed of Coaching trains and 100 Kmph speed of Freight trains, were fixed on several occasions between 1960 to 2016-17 and the timeline to increase the speed has been constantly revised. However, the same has not been achieved yet,” the PAC report reads.
Mission Raftaar in Indian Railways
The report further stated that Indian Railways had launched ‘Mission Raftaar’ in 2016-17, aiming to double the average speed of freight trains from 25 kmph to 50 kmph and increase the average speed of Mail/Express trains from 50 kmph to 75 kmph by the end of 2021-22. However, the average speeds achieved were only 23.6 kmph for freight trains and 50.6 kmph for Mail/Express trains, it said.
In its recommendations, the parliamentary panel said that while the Ministry of Railways has taken several steps to improve the average and maximum speeds of trains, the lack of an integrated approach across all zonal railways has been a major hindrance.
The panel asked the national transporter to prepare a comprehensive plan involving all zonal railways to achieve the desired increase in average and maximum speeds for both passenger and freight trains, ensuring that safety is not compromised.
“The Committee would expect an incremental increase in average speed of trains from 5 to 10 km/hr every few years in express trains which will reduce travelling time by a few hours for long distance trains,” it said.
Why long-distance train speeds haven’t increased over years, asks Parliament panel (Image: Ministry of Railways) 
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