Adding another feather to its cap, Indian Railways (IR) achieved 81.51% electrification of the total Broad Gauge (BG) network in India. With this, it is one step closer to achieving Net Zero Carbon Emission by 2030.
“Indian Railways achieves 81.51% electrification of the total Broad Gauge network. With this, Indian Railways is steadily moving towards achieving Net Zero Carbon Emission by 2030,” tweeted Darshana Jardosh, Minister of State for Railways and Textiles, Government of India (GOI), on Friday,
IR has embarked upon an ambitious plan for the electrification of its complete Broad Gauge network. It would not only result in better fuel energy usage resulting in increased throughput, and reduced fuel expenditure but also savings in precious foreign exchange.
During the financial year (FY) 2022-23, till September 2022, IR has achieved 851 Route Kilometers (RKMs) as compared to 562 RKMs during the corresponding period of FY 2021-22. It is 51.4% more than the previous year’s figures for the corresponding period. The target set for electrification during this Financial Year is 6500 RKMs, informed the Ministry of Railways.
It is worth mentioning here that during 2021-22 record electrification of 6,366 RKMs was achieved in Indian Railways’ history. Earlier, the highest electrification was 6,015 RKM (during 2020-21). As on 30 September 2022, out of 65,141 RKM of the BG network of IR (including KRCL), 53,098 BG RKM have been electrified, which is 81.51% of the total BG network.
It is pertinent to mention here that on many occasions Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed the need for Net Zero Carbon Emission in the country.
What is Net Zero Carbon Emission?
It is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. The term is used in the context of carbon dioxide-releasing processes associated with agriculture, transportation, energy production, and industry.