Having one of the largest networks in the world, Indian Railways has since long acted as the lifeline of the transportation system in India. The diesel locomotives put to use by the entity, however, have been an equally dominant source of pollution in the country. Now, the Railway Minister of India is aiming to change that.
In a recent gathering, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announced that Indian Railways will be going completely electric by the year 2024. By doing so, the network will also be the first one in the world to boast of such an achievement.
"By the year 2024, we expect the entire Indian Railways to be run 100 per cent on electricity. It will be the first railway network in the world to be run fully on electricity,¡± said Goyal. The ambitions, however, do not end there.
Building on the electrification of railways, Piyush Goyal is also aiming to completely eliminate emissions from the entire network in India. For this, the minister mentioned a timeline of 10-years, with the goal to be accomplished by 2030.
"By 2030, we plan to make the entire railways network a net-zero emission network. We will have no emission from the railways, it will run on clean energy and clean power," he said.
Efforts towards this are already being made, as the ministry is working towards doing away with the diesel locomotives. In the process, the ministry also managed to create a world record last year, as it converted a diesel locomotive to an all electric one in a period of 69 days. As per the team, the electrification also saved 50% of the cost for the locomotive. Here is all you need to know about the rehabilitation of the diesel locomotive to an electric one.
As per a report by Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE), the total savings expected out of a complete electrification of Indian Railways is Rs 81,000 crore till 2027. The report also mentions new technologies now in play that have helped accelerate the electrification and will continue to do so in the coming years. Some of these are -? mechanised augur for foundations, Anchor Bolt type foundations in rocky soil, unique design of high rise OHE (7.57 meter) for the first time in the world as well as a revised OHE design for low density traffic routes that has been able to reduce the cost of electrification by Rs 1400 crore to date.