Electrification of the Indian Railways network is now in the final leg with over 99 per cent complete till August-end. According to official data, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Assam are the only states where electrification of the broad-gauge network is left. Besides electrification, the national transporter is also scaling up renewable energy deployment with installed solar capacity surpassing 4,500 MW.
“Over 99.1 per cent of the railway tracks are electrified,” a senior official said while adding just 646 route kilo metres (RKM) of the 69,800 RKM total network is left.
Assam is the biggest laggard with 269 RKM unelectrified in the state which is roughly 10 per cent of the total track network in the northeastern state.
At 93 RKM, less than 1 per cent of tracks in Rajasthan are left unelectrified.
Supplementing the electrification and pushing towards net zero, the national transporter is also advancing on its renewable energy adoption plans.
Officials said Indian Railways is expanding the use of rooftop solar panels stations, workshops, sheds, and offices. It is also developing large-scale solar power projects on surplus railway land, which are connected to the electricity grid.
“Indian Railways has installed 236 MW rooftop solar panels across 2427 Railway stations, 1295 Service buildings and 673 residential quarters,” the official said while adding work is underway to add another 224 MW of rooftop solar capacity.
On the land based solar plants, work is underway on 1040 MW capacity addition.
“Apart from plain solar power solutions, Indian Railways has also tied up renewable power in Round The Clock (RE-RTC) mode,” the official said while adding 2301 MW RE-RTC capacities are under implementation spread across Rajasthan and Maharashtra.