Indian Railways operates India's railway system and comes under the purview of the Ministry of Railways of Government of India. As of 2023[update], it maintains over 108,706 km (67,547 mi) of tracks and operates over 13,000 trains daily. According to the Ministry of Railways, a route capable of supporting trains operating at more than 160 km/h (100 mph) is considered as a higher speed or semi-high speed rail line.
As of 2024[update], India does not have any operational high-speed rail lines capable of supporting more than 200 km/h (125 mph). Currently, the highest speed is achieved by Gatimaan Express and Vande Bharat Express on the Tughlakabad–Agra section and the regional RapidX services with peak operational speed of 160 km/h (100 mph).
Earlier steam locomotive operated trains largely operated below 100 km/h (62 mph). With the introduction of electric locomotives in later 1920s and newer steam locomotives, speeds of 100 km/h (62 mph) were achieved. With the movement to AC traction in late 1950s and introduction of diesel locomotives, commercial speeds of up to 120 km/h (75 mph) was achieved in the late 1960s. With the introduction of high power electric locomotives in the 1990s, operating speeds of 130 km/h (81 mph) was achieved with further developments leading to speeds of maximum speeds of 160 km/h (100 mph) being realized in the early 2010s. Vande Bharat, an Electric Multiple Unit (EMU), introduced in 2018, is the fastest operational train-set and is capable of reaching 183 km/h (114 mph).
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The first high-speed railway corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad of about 508 km (316 mi) is currently under construction with a designed maximum operational speed of 350 km/h (220 mph) and is expected to be operational fully by 2028-29. As of 2023, eight such corridors have also been proposed.