The Indian Railways will shorten the travel time between New Delhi and Kolkata by at least two and a half hours by increasing the highest speed of trains to 160 kmph, officials said.
The plan along the 1,525-km route will be carried out under project Mission Raftar, which aims to reduce travel time along busy stretches by running passenger trains at a speed of 160 kmph. A similar plan under the project is already being implemented along the 1,483-km long New Delhi-Mumbai route.
Currently, the Rajdhani Express is the fastest train between New Delhi and Howrah. It takes 17.05 hours to complete the journey via Gaya in Bihar.