Govt: Railways electrified 59,524 km length of Broad Gauge rail line so far
The government on Wednesday informed the parliament that the Indian railways have electrified a total of 59,524 km length of Broad Gauge (BG) rail line as of August 1.
The rail minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha that this has helped in reducing operating costs, increased the ability to accommodate heavier freight trains and longer passenger trains due to the higher haulage capacity of Electric Locomotives, and increased sectional capacity through the elimination of traction change-related detentions.
Furthermore, he also claimed that electrification contributes to a more environmentally friendly mode of transport, reduces dependence on imported crude oil, and ultimately conserves foreign currency.
However, it is important to note that the completion of electrification projects depends on various factors such as regulatory clearances, infrastructure adjustments, geographical considerations, and local conditions. Consequently, a precise timeframe for project completion remains challenging to ascertain at this stage, the rail minister added. Towards improved travel efficiency, Vaishnaw also underlined that it is evident in its consistent efforts to increase train speeds.
The rationalization of timetables, aided by the expertise of IIT-Bombay, has been instrumental in converting passenger trains to Express services and Express services to Superfast services. Notably, the introduction of Vande Bharat trains, designed for higher speed potential, has been a significant stride. Presently, 50 Vande Bharat services are operational on the Indian Railways network.
Further, over 10,400 route km, including the Golden Quadrilateral, diagonal routes, and other vital B routes, have been upgraded to a sectional speed of 130 kmph. Projects aimed at elevating sectional speeds to 160 kmph on established New Delhi-Mumbai (including Vadodara-Ahmedabad) and New Delhi-Howrah (including Kanpur-Lucknow) routes have been sanctioned, with investments of Rs. 6806 crores and Rs. 6685 crores respectively.
The minister also emphasised that to modernize its signalling systems to bolster safety and operational efficiency an upgrade from mechanical signalling to Electrical/Electronic Interlocking System, facilitating centralized operation of points and signals, has been executed at 6443 stations by June, 30 this year. Adding, enhanced safety through complete Track Circuiting of stations has been implemented at 6381 stations, and interlocking of Level Crossing Gates (LC) at 11102 locations has been completed by contributing to enhanced safety at these points by the same timeline, the minister informed.
Also, Axle counters and ABS have been integrated into the signalling framework to streamline train clearance procedures and ensure safer operations.
6412 block sections are equipped with these systems as of June 30 with ABS introduced at 3946 route km. Vaishnaw also underlined that PSU RailTel has played a pivotal role in maintaining an Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) network, which serves as the backbone for control communication circuits. and various other operational needs for rail.
