Source:https://www.financialexpress.com/infrastructure/railways/reducing-carbon-footprint-indian-railways-achieve-100-electrification-of-4-zones-says-centre/2691214/
Publisher: Financial Express
Union MoS for Railways Raosaheb Patil Danve announced that Indian Railways has achieved 100% electrification on four of its zones namely — East Coast, South Eastern, Eastern and Central Eastern Railway. This development is in line with the Indian Railways’ aim of becoming the largest Green Railways in the world and further moving towards becoming a “net zero carbon emitter” before 2030. Danve took to Twitter to make the announcement and stated that besides reducing carbon footprints, this will also enable seamless passenger and freight movement.
According to a report, if Indian Railways achieve the “net zero carbon emitter” goal, it could lead to an annual emissions reduction of at least 15 million tonnes of CO2. This could further help meet 5% of India’s Nationally Determined Contributions target and also save Rs 17,000 crore in fuel costs and other savings per year. Recently, the Indian Railways also registered a growth in passenger traffic revenue and automobile traffic.
Railways not only help the automobile industry to quickly transport bulk volumes over long distances but also give the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint. According to the Indian Railways, the volume of transportation of small passenger vehicles (cars) has increased by 68% YoY during the first five months of the current financial year. Moreover, the revenue from passenger traffic was Rs 25,276.54 crore with a 116% increase of Rs 13,574.44 crore over the corresponding period of last year. Passenger traffic also increased compared to last year in both the segments, reserved as well as unreserved. These figures also point toward the increased use of trains and make the reduction of carbon emissions goal all the more important.
The Railways had said in June 2021 that electrification had increased nearly 10 times since 2014. Recently, Konkan Railway Corporation completed electrification on its entire 741-km route between Roha (Maharashtra) and Thokur (Karnataka). Konkan Railway connects Mumbai with Mangalore. The line passes through Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka along India’s west coast. South Central Railway also announced the electrification of 163 km of railway lines on various sections in Andhra Pradesh.
