Railways to become 'net zero carbon emitter' by 2030: Piyush Goyal

Speaking at an event, Goyal said that the national transporter was going green in a big way

Indian Railways will become a "net zero" carbon emitter by 2030, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

Speaking at an event -- 'The Rail Contact 2018', organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in collaboration with the Railway Board, Goyal said that the national transporter was going green in a big way.

"With the current action plans on anvil for 100 per cent electrification, coupled with renewable strategies, Indian Railways will become a net zero carbon emitter by 2030. However, it is always a team which needs to work in partnership, with a collective effort of working towards a common goal," he said.

Quoting Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs, the minister added, "Great things in business are never done by one person. Industry participation is as much important in our mission as to make Indian Railways the newest, finest and safest railways in the world."

Sharing the scale of modernisation and transformation Indian Railways has been able to achieve, the minister said, "We have been able to ramp up track renewal to 476 km every month."

"In the last 64 years, freight loading has increased by 1,344 per cent in Indian Railways. Passenger travel in terms of kilometres has increased 1,642 per cent. The total investments in 2013-14 in the capital infrastructure of the railways was slated for about Rs 460 billion, which is now made Rs 1,410 billion for this year," he said.