After the fast-tracking of Vande Bharat's high-speed trains, Indian Railways is looking at lucrative e-commerce space and also plans to use the identical platform to introduce high-speed freight trains.

The prototype will be built at Chennai's Integral Coach Factory and the plan is to launch 25 such trains.

Each of these 16-car trains with the top speed of 160 km/h is estimated to cost about Rs 60 crores, three times more than a standard 45-car freight practice.

But the increased speed of those rakes — today's freight trains in India travel at 75 km/h — could help the rural carrier increase its market share in freight from 28% now, including the railways aiming for a 40% share in freight logistics in 2030.