In its attempt to achieve 100 per cent electrification of Broad Gauge (BG) tracks in the country, the Indian Railways has electrified 93.83 per cent of the BG network till December, 2023. With the electrification of 6,577 route kilometers (RKMs) during the 2023 calendar year, 61,508 RKMs of tracks have been electrified out of the existing network of 65,556 RKMs, informed a press note recently. As trains constitute one of the dominant modes of transportation in India, to reduce dependency on conventional sources of energy, Railways is electrifying the BG tracks to make train services more eco-friendly, faster and more efficient.
Till 2014, a total of 21,801 RKMs of Broad Gauge tracks had been electrified in the country. In 2018, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had approved a proposal for electrification of all remaining unelectrified BG routes. The work was to be completed by 2021-22 and it was estimated that after complete electrification, consumption of diesel by the Railways would reduce by 2.8 billion litres and its energy bill would shrink by about Rs 13,000 crore per annum. According to the ‘Status of Railway Electrification’ report published by the Railways January 1, since the financial year (FY) 2017-18, some 35,383 RKMs of BG tracks have been electrified.
While in the FY2022- 23, electrification work was completed for 6,565 RKMs of BG tracks, in FY2023-24, till the end of December, 2,696 RKMs of tracks were electrified. Though the goal of 100 per cent electrification hasn’t been achieved throughout the country, as per the report, there are 14 states and Union territories, including Odisha, where electrification has been completed for all the BG tracks. Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are some of the states where complete electrification has also been achieved. Where Odisha has 2,855 RKMs of the electrified BG tracks as of now, Uttar Pradesh has 8,516 RKMs, Madhya Pradesh 4,881 RKMs and Jharkhand 2,558 RKMs. Assam has the lowest percentage of electrified tracks at 39 per cent, with only 982 RKMs of its 2,518 RKM of tracks having been electrified.
Explaining challenges facing the electrification work, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said in Lok Sabha in August, 2023 that the completion of projects depends on factors like forest clearance by Forest department officials, statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation at the project site, and a number of working months in a year depending on the climatic conditions.
