New Delhi, Feb 11 (UNI) In a transformation that is being seen as one of the fastest infrastructure shifts in independent India, Indian Railways has electrified more route kilometres in the last 11 years than in the previous six decades combined, pushing the Broad Gauge network to 99.4 per cent electrification.
Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said that 46,900 route kilometres (Rkm) have been electrified during 2014-25, compared to 21,801 Rkm electrified in about 60 years before 2014.
The numbers underline the scale of acceleration: what took decades has been nearly doubled in just over a decade under a mission-mode push. Electrification work on the remaining sections of the Broad Gauge network is currently underway.
Fourteen railway zones, including Central, Eastern, Northern, Western, South Central, South Eastern and East Coast Railways, along with Kolkata Metro and Konkan Railway, have already achieved 100 per cent electrification. Most of the remaining zones are above 95 per cent.
At the State and union Territory level, 25 States/UTs including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Telangana, Kerala and Delhi have achieved 100 per cent electrification. Others such as Rajasthan (99 per cent), Assam (98 per cent), Tamil Nadu (97 per cent), Karnataka (97 per cent) and Goa (91 per cent) are close to full coverage.
The electrification drive has also translated into major fuel savings. In 2024-25, Indian Railways saved 178 crore litres of diesel compared to 2016-17 — a 62 per cent reduction — significantly lowering crude oil import dependency.
Railways spent Rs 32,378 crore on total energy consumption for traction in 2024-25. Over the last five years (2020-21 to 2024-25), Rs 29,826 crore has been spent on electrification projects. Since 2023-24 alone, 10,932 Rkm have been electrified till January 2026.
All new line and multi-tracking projects are now being sanctioned with electrification, signalling a structural shift towards fully electric traction. The Minister said electric traction is environmentally and economically more beneficial compared to alternatives such as bio-diesel, which has been tested.
He noted that project completion depends on factors such as forest and statutory clearances, shifting of utilities, terrain conditions, law and order situations and climatic constraints.
Alongside electrification, Railways has intensified waste management efforts and eliminated direct discharge of human waste from trains through large-scale installation of bio-toilets. While 9,587 bio-toilets were fitted between 2004 and 2014, as many as 3,61,572 have been installed from 2014 till date.
With near-total electrification, steep diesel reduction and a green transition gathering pace, Indian Railways’ shift from diesel-heavy operations to an almost fully electric network marks a defining infrastructure milestone.
