Railway achieves 100% electrification in Odisha

In its bid to make the country’s entire rail network run on electric traction and shun diesel-based trains, the Indian Railways achieved an important milestone by complete electrification of the existing broad gauge network of Odisha that plays an important role in  transportation of minerals, agricultural products and other goods from the state to other parts of the country.

This is in tandem with Indian Railway’s ambitious aim to reduce its carbon footprint to achieve ‘Net-zero Carbon Emission’ by 2030.

According to the sources it is said that the existing broad gauge network of 2,822 km has been 100 per cent electrified, resulting in savings on account of reduced line haul cost (around 2.5 times lower) and heavier haulage capacity.

Odisha is the third state with its entire broad gauge railway network electrified after Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The state is served by three zonal railways – East Coast Railway (ECoR), South Eastern Railway (SER) and South East Central Railway (SECR). A majority of the railway network falls under the jurisdiction of ECoR, which is one of the six fully electrified railway zones of the country.

Progressively, the Railways also has plans to shift to renewables, dovetailing to India’s global commitment to renewable energy as part of various international ‘climate’ negotiations.