At 97%, Railways draws close to full electrification of broad gauge network

The Centre has allocated Rs 6,500 cr towards electrification in the current financial year

Indian Railways has completed electrification of 96.68 per cent of its broad gauge network, as it moved swiftly to become fully-electrified by 2024-25. Six more states now have 100 per cent electrified networks, taking the number of such states to 20, according to the national transporter’s data.

The data says that around 2199 route kilometres (rkm) of electrification remains to be completed out of the 66,343 rkm of the Indian Railways network.

The ministry of railways has set a target to become a net-zero carbon emitter by 2030, in consonance with which the Centre had decided to complete electrification in mission mode to reduce consumption of diesel for train operations.

The Centre has allocated Rs 6500 crore towards electrification in the current financial year.

As of September 2024, railway networks in 20 states have been fully electrified. They are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

Covering last-stretch electrification allows seamless connectivity in zones, as there is no need for traction change from electric to diesel once a section has been fully electrified.

At the end of FY24, 14 states had seen 100 per cent electrification. The railway ministry’s electrification drive, which was seeing consistent 6000+ rkm each year, slowed down in FY24, when it achieved 4644 rkm electrification.

Officials have previously said that the northeast leg of electrification is tricky, on account of availability of labour, among other factors.

For environmental and strategic reasons, rail electrification has been a key move on the Centre’s agenda. The line haul cost per thousand gross tonne kilometre (GTKM) is 2.25 times more expensive for passenger traffic and 3.05 times for freight traffic for diesel traction compared to electric, owing to better fuel cost and efficiency.

Moreover, electrified lines can handle heavier freight and longer passenger trains and reduce delays on account of traction change.

While experts believe that 100 per cent electrification is an important pursuit from a cost and strategic perspective as India’s diesel needs are met through imports, but energy needs are largely fulfilled through domestic resources, it would not be correct to call it greening of the railway network.

Railways takes its electricity from the grid, in which thermal coal accounts for 70 per cent of the source. Unless the electricity itself is generated from renewable sources, electrification only means changing the location of carbon emissions, not the impact, according to former railway officials.