Electrification in the Indian Railways Network: In the last seven years, Indian Railways has continued to be the key driver of the economy, Piyush Goyal recently said. According to the Railway Minister, the national transporter has been at the forefront of transforming the rail network by upgrading passenger services, enhancing freight performance, expanding connectivity across the country as well as strengthening the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Railway Ministry, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the national transporter recorded the highest ever electrification of sections across the Indian Railways network in fiscal 2020-21.

During the financial year 2020-21, Indian Railways achieved the highest ever electrification of sections, covering 6015 Route Km (RKM) in a single year, surpassing the previous highest of 5,276 RKM achieved in the year 2018-19. During the period between May 2019 to March 2021, the total Broad Gauge (BG) routes of 10,364 RKM was commissioned. The Railway Minister further stated that end-to-end connectivity was provided on many important railway routes by electrification of missing links along with the first time Indian Railways’ connectivity to the North-East part of the country. The national transporter has planned to fully electrify its rail tracks by December 2023. Earlier, the ministry had said that the total rail electrification would contribute to “net zero” emissions by the year 2030 by drawing its entire electrical load from the sources of renewable energy.

Following are some major sections electrified by the Indian Railways over the year:

  • Mumbai – Howrah section via Jabalpur
  • Delhi – Darbhanga – Jaynagar section
  • Gorakhpur – Varanasi section via Aunrihar
  • Jabalpur – Nainpur – Gondia – Ballarshah section
  • Chennai – Trichy section
  • Indore – Guna – Gwalior – Amritsar section
  • Delhi – Jaipur – Udaipur section
  • New Delhi – New coochbehar – Srirampur Assam section via Patna and Katihar
  • Ajmer – Howrah section
  • Mumbai – Marwar section
  • Delhi – Moradabad – Tanakpur section