Konkan railways successfully completes ‘Mission 100% Electrification’

The Konkan Railway department, on a mission mode to electrify its entire Broad Gauge network to provide environment friendly, green & clean mode of transport to its people under the ‘Mission 100% Electrification - Moving towards net Zero Carbon Emission’ plan, has accomplished 100 Rail electrification of its entire stretch.

Information regarding the same was released by the department on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. As per reports, the foundation stone for the Electrification of the entire 741 kms route work was laid in November 2015 and the total cost of the project is said to be INR 1287 crore. 

Officials from the department conducted the CRS inspection of the entire Konkan Railway route successfully, in six phases, and the process for the same began during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, i.e. from March 2020. 

The CRS inspection of the last section between Ratnagiri and Thivim was carried out on March 14, 2022, and authorization was obtained on March 28, 2022.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi also congratulated Konkan Railway team for the remarkable success of ‘Mission 100% Electrification’ and setting new benchmarks of sustainable development. Sharing a tweet he said, "Congratulations to the entire @KonkanRailway Team for the remarkable success of ‘Mission 100% Electrification’ and setting new benchmarks of sustainable development."

Congratulations to the entire @KonkanRailway Team for the remarkable success of ‘Mission 100% Electrification’ and setting new benchmarks of sustainable development. https://t.co/NB0DAZIVNz

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 30, 2022

The electrification project has been challenging due to the difficult terrain of Konkan Railway and non conducive atmosphere due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Moreover, officials said that due to the extreme monsoon in the Konkan region, special arrangements had to be made at many locations to keep the electrification mission going non-stop.

It has to be noted that the team has considered numerous inherent benefits of electric traction i.e. significant savings in fuel expenditure i.e more than INR 150 Cr., Seamless operation on Electric Traction on the West Coast, pollution free mode of transportation and Reduced dependence on HSD oil.

Data reveals that the Konkan Railway is one of the biggest railway routes on the Indian Railway network, and the train operations with electric traction will be implemented on the newly electrified KR route in a phased manner. The department will continue to work on the 'Safety First' motive in the coming years.