NF Railway Plans To Fully Electrify Tracks By The End Of 2023

GUWAHATI: The electrification work under Northeast Frontier Railway is progressing at a rapid pace, with the aim to achieve the Indian Railways target of net zero carbon emission by 2030, NFR sources said here.

NF Railway chief PRO Sabyasachi De said electrification of railway tracks of about 1661.83 route kms (RKMs) under the jurisdiction of NF Railway have been completed between 2014 and 2023, with the balance portion targeted to be electrified by the end of this year.

“Electrification will significantly improve the mobility of trains in northeast India,” he said. De added that electrification offers a sustainable and efficient mode of transportation that will free the railways from environmental pollution and eliminate its dependency on fossil fuels.

He further stated that only 21,413 route kms of railway tracks were electrified in the period between India’s Independence and 2014. However, over the past nine years, the pace of electrification in India has been significantly accelerated and a record-breaking 37,011 route kilometres of tracks were electrified during the period, he added, saying this is an increase of 73% in the last nine years.

90% of the Railway tracks, amounting to a total of 58,424 RKMs have been electrified. Nearly 50% out of the total route kilometres electrified was completed in the last five years alone.

“Indian Railways has set a target of becoming the world’s largest green railway with zero carbon emissions by 2030. It has already achieved 100% railway electrification in 14 states and Union Territories, making significant strides towards achieving this ambitious goal,” he said.

Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) announced last year that it would invest over Rs 95,261 crore to execute 21 projects, including connecting the state capitals of three northeastern states -- Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya by 2023, and Nagaland capital Kohima by 2026.

Apart from Assam's Guwahati, Tripura capital Agartala, and Arunachal Pradesh's Naharlagun, adjacent to capital city Itanagar, are already connected with the railway network.

NFR's Chief Public Relations Officer Sabyasachi De last year said funds to the tune of Rs 51,787 crore have already been allocated with the vision to connect the remaining state capitals and also to increase the line capacity in the region,.

The average fund allocation per year for the northeastern region in the last eight years is 254 per cent more than the yearly average fund allocation in 2009-14.

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