The union government set a target of union next three years to electrify the tracks of Indian Railways completely. Union Ministry of Finance announced this after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her second budget on 1 February. Indian Railways aim to achieve the full electrification of its tracks in the next three years. Indian railways about 18 billion units of electricity and 3,069.30 tonne kilolitres of diesel for its traction need.
The Ministry of Finance in a series of tweets has stated that Indian Railways will aim to achieve the full electrification of its tracks in the next three years.
“37,500 km (58 percent) of Railway tracks already electrified. Balance 27,000 km to be electrified by Railways by 2023. Will reduce pollution, enhance the efficiency of Railways,” it tweeted.
Rs 1 lakh crore of private investment to be raised by NHAI through monetising 6000 km highways in 12 bundles via Toll-Operate-Transfer. Will raise efficiency of toll collection and improve road maintenance. Monetisation of two bundles resulted in investment of Rs 14,692 cr.
— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) February 2, 2020
In 2018-19, the railways had consumed about 18 billion units of electricity (around 1.27 percent of the country’s total power consumption) and 3,069.30 tonne kilolitres of diesel for its traction need.
Yadav said with 100 percent electrification and the rail traffic projected to grow, it was estimated that the Indian Railways would be consuming around 28-30 billion units of electricity for its traction requirement.
In another tweet, the Ministry said: “150 trains to be run by the private sector under PPP arrangement, which is likely to attract private investment of about ₹22,500 crore for Railways.
37,500 kms (58%) of Railway tracks already electrified. Balance 27,000 km to be electrified by Railways by 2023. Will reduce pollution, enhance efficiency of Railways.
— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) February 2, 2020
The 100 percent electrification and the rail traffic projected to grow Indian Railways will be consuming around 28-30 billion units of electricity for its traction requirement. Indian Railways will become the world’s first net-zero carbon emitter by 2030. Carbon dioxide emission from the Indian Railways was around 6.84 million tons in 2014. The global concerns over climate change, Indian Railways is also working to reduce the carbon emission. Indian railways took several steps to expedite electrification of railway lines in the country and they include, the award of Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts better project monitoring mechanism, delegating more power to field units for the award of contracts/sanction of estimates and close monitoring at the highest level.
Piyush Goyal also said that the Indian Railways will be 100% electrically run by 2023.
