'Electrification of railway lines will save Rs 135 bn every year'

Railway Board Member and Member (Traction) Ghanshyam Singh he asserted that not only electrification would be done but the energy would be sourced from locally available sources

Railway Board Member and Member (Traction) Ghanshyam Singh on Sunday asserted that after the complete electrification of railway lines, the Indian Railways would be able to save approximately Rs 135 billion per annum, considering the present traffic level.

Earlier today, Singh conducted an inspection of the Pamban Railway Bridge that connects the town of Rameswaram to the mainland India. The Pamban Railway Bridge will be electrified along with all railway lines across the country.

Following the inspection, he asserted that not only electrification would be done but the energy would be sourced from locally available sources.

"The Government of India has taken a mission to provide electrification on all the broad gauge railway line of the Indian Railways. This line will also get electrified in due course. The aim of this mission is to provide a low cost, green transport system to our fellow countrymen because electric traction is cheaper. All the energy is produced from locally available sources and we have the further mission to source the energy from renewable energy sources like wind, solar and hydro powers. So it will be a clean affordable transport system fuelled by totally green energy at a very affordable cost," Singh said.

Further elaborating about financial significance of this mission, he informed that it would save thousands of crores every year for the Indian Railways.

"We expect that after complete electrification of the Indian Railways, there would be a saving of approximately Rs 135 billion per annum under present level of traffic. This is a win-win situation to all the countrymen," Singh added.

On September 12, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved the proposal for electrification of balance unelectrified broad gauge of the Indian Railways comprising of 108 sections covering 13,675 route kilometres (16,540 track kilometres) at a cost of Rs.121.34 billion. This electrification is likely to be completed by 2021-22.