India has allocated INR 6,500 crore in the interim budget for further electrification initiatives, aiming to become the world’s largest green railroad with complete electrification. The Indian railways have already invested over INR 46,425 crore since 2014, with more electric engines than diesel engines. By December 2023, they will own 10,238 electric and 4,543 diesel engines. The rate of rail electrification has increased nine times in the last ten years, with India being 95% electrified.
INR 6,500 crore has been set up in the interim budget for further electrification initiatives. Indian railways will become the world’s biggest green railroad with complete electrification. India already has a large number of 100% electrified areas. “With a dedicated fund of INR 6,500 crore in FY25 for further electrification projects, India is committed to achieving complete electrification,” a top railway official told ANI.
According to a senior Railway Ministry official, Railways will completely electrify its broad gauge network in the coming months, far in advance of the conclusion of the current fiscal year.
INR 6,500 crore has been set up in the interim budget for further electrification initiatives. Indian railroads will become the world’s biggest green railroads with complete electrification. India already has a large number of 100% electrified areas.
“With a dedicated fund of INR 6,500 crore in FY25 for further electrification projects, India is committed to achieving complete electrification,” a top railway official told ANI.
Since 2014, the Indian Railways have invested more than INR 46,425 crore on electrification. However, the tide has clearly turned, with more electric engines than diesel engines, and it will take some time for diesel locomotives to be retired and replaced with electric engines. The Railways owned 10,238 electric and 4,543 diesel engines by December 2023.
In 2023–2024, they electrified 7,188 kilometers of train tracks. Some electrified routes included Ahmedabad-Rajkot-Okha (499 km), Bengaluru-Talguppa (371 km), and Bhatinda-Firozpur-Jalandhar (301 km). Transitioning to electric power by 2027 to 2028 is expected to lower carbon emissions by 24%.
Between 2014 and 2015, the railroads electrified more than 40,000 route kilometers on the broad gauge network. That’s almost double the 21,80 km electrified before 2014!
According to officials, the rate of rail electrification has increased almost nine times in the last ten years, from 1.42 km/day in 2014–15 to 19.6 km/day in 2023–24.
India has electrified its trains significantly more quickly than the US, the UK, or the EU. Indian railroads are 95% electrified, compared to 56% in the EU, 38% in the UK, and 1% in the US, according to statistics from Energy Monitor and Indian railways. Conversely, Switzerland has 99 percent electricity.
According to railway authorities, the electrification initiative offers significant environmental advantages.
They added that electrification also acts as a growth stimulant, reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels, creating employment during construction, and elevating railroads to the status of the nation’s economic engine.
As power is produced locally, rail electrification is a significant strategic undertaking in terms of import substitution.
Nonetheless, a number of analysts contend that even while electrification will save money and be strategically significant, the majority of the railways’ power comes from the grid, and 70–80% of the plants rely on thermal coke.
Electrification just entails shifting the source of carbon emissions if power is not produced from renewable sources.
By 2030, railways want to become the greatest green railway in the world, emitting zero carbon emissions.
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