The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, approved the last-leg electrification of more than 13,000 route kilometers of railway track at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore.
Addressing mediapersons, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said the project which is expected to finish by 2022 also involves the conversion of existing diesel engines to electric. He said after completion of this electrification project, Railways will save more than Rs 13,500 crore annually from the fuel expenses.
The remaining un-electrified broad gauge routes comprising 108 sections, covering 13,675 route kilometers (16,540 track kilometers) at a cost of Rs 12,134.5 crore, has been approved, said Government in statement.
“Considering the requirement for seamless operation of rail traffic across the network, it is necessary that the bottlenecks created by the need to change traction are done away with. “The proposed electrification, which is mainly for missing links and last mile connectivity, will increase the operational efficiency, enhance line capacity and improve the average speed of trains,” the statement said.
Detailing the electrification project, Goyal said that this project would eliminate the pollution related issues and the Railways is planning to convert the existing diesel engines to covert to the electrical engines. Diesel engines may be shifted to border areas and will consider the stake holders concerns also, he said.
“The approved electrification will reduce the use of imported fossil fuels thereby improve energy security to the Nation. After the planned electrification, there would be reduction in the consumption of high speed diesel oil by about 2.83 billion litres per annum and a reduction in GHG emissions. This will also reduce environmental impact of Railways,” said the Railway Minister.
“Currently, around two thirds of freight and more than half of passenger traffic in Indian Railways moves on electric traction.
However, electric traction accounts for just 37 per cent of the total energy expenses of Indian Railways. Due to this advantage, post electrification, Indian Railways is likely to save Rs 13,510 crore per annum in fuel bill and the same will improve its finances,” he added.