Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: India has emerged as the global leader with the largest electrified railway network in the world. With 99.6 per cent electrification of the country’s broad gauge track network, India is second only to Switzerland which has 100 per cent railway electrification, but the network is much smaller, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha on July 22.
India’s railway network electrification is ahead of China (82 per cent), Spain 67 (per cent), Japan (64 per cent), France (60 per cent) the United Kingdom (39 per cent).
Indian Railways (IR) has undertaken one of the fastest railway electrification programmes in the world. While many countries prioritise electrifying only their busiest passenger and freight corridors, India has chosen to electrify its entire broad gauge network, the minister said in a written reply to a question in the Lower House.
Electrification of the track network on Indian Railways has been taken up in mission mode with a massive 48,072 route km being electrified between 2014-2026. This represents a sharp acceleration compared to the 21,801 route km that was electrified in the 60 years before this period, the minister stated.
Further, electrification of railway tracks reduces dependency on fossil fuels, decreased diesel consumption resulting in lower carbon emission. Electrification enables better haulage capacity and higher train speeds, leading to reduced travel time and enhanced efficiency.
Reduction in IR’s diesel consumption for traction purpose by 185 crore litres with about 108 crore litres consumption in 2024-25 as compared to 293 crore litres in 2015-16. This has resulted in saving of precious foreign exchange, which would have otherwise been needed for import of fuel which has been saved due to electrification.
