How Railways plans to convert diesel locos into electric at a lower cost

With the Union Cabinet clearing 100 per cent electrification of all the broad-gauge (BG) routes of the Indian Railways by 2021-22, the national transporter is working on a master plan to convert its entire fleet of about 5,500 diesel locomotives into electric ones at less than half the cost of refurbishment of diesel engines.

"The Railways has now developed an indigenous technology to convert our diesel locomotives to electric ones during the time of refurbishment at a cost of Rs 20 million. This is compared to the existing cost of Rs 50 million for the refurbishment of diesel engines," said Ghanshyam Singh, member (Traction) railway board.

The total shift to electric traction will reduce fossil fuel consumption of about 2.83 billion litres per annum. Normally, engines come for refurbishment once they complete 18 years of service on track. The planned conversion to electric will happen as and when an engine comes for renewal. The Indian Railways has already used this technology in two of its locomotives. 

Out of its total track length, around 29,000 route kilometre (RKM) is already electrified and construction is going on in 20,000 RKM. Early this month, the Union Cabinet also cleared 13,675 RKM electrification plan at a cost of Rs 121.34 billion. Singh added that the total power requirement for railways after complete electrification would be around 3000 megawatts. 

"We are already consuming around 2000 MW of electricity. This will increase by another 1000 MW through 100 per cent electrification. However, we may require another 1000 diesel locomotives as a backup in case of any crisis," Singh said. 

Out of the 2000 MW of power that the railways is using now, almost 1100 MW is sourced through open access. So far, around 10 states have agreed for open access of electricity by the railways. 

For this, the Railways will use the locomotives manufactured at the General Electric unit at Marhowra in Bihar. "We are sourcing around 1000 locomotives from them over a period of 11 years," Singh said. 

The Railways is also planning to bring structural changes to all its diesel manufacturing and maintenance units so that it can be used for making and maintaining electric locomotives. 

At present, electric traction accounts for just 37 per cent of the total energy expenses of Indian Railways. Due to this advantage, post-electrification, the Indian Railways is likely to save Rs 135.10 billion per annum in fuel bill and the same will improve its finances. It has almost 5000 electric locomotives at present.