Central Organization For Railway Electrification
Encyclopedia
The Central Organization for Railway Electrification (CORE), has its headquarters at Allahabad
, India
. It is in overall charge of railway electrification over the entire network of Indian Railways
. However of late, some electrification works have been entrusted to Rail Vikas Nigam Limited
, a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Railways
of the Government of India
. Additionally small electrification works are being done by zonal railways. The organisation has been functioning since 1961 and is headed by a General Manager. Projects units operate from Ambala
, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai
, Bangalore
, Secunderabad
, Lucknow
, Kota
, Kolkata
Gorakhpur
and New Jalpaiguri
.
and Kurla
Harbour on 3 February 1925 on the then existing Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIP) at 1500 V DC. Heavy gradients on the Western Ghats
necessitated the introduction of electric traction on the Central Railway up to Igatpuri
on the North East line and to Pune
on the South East line. 1500 volt DC traction was introduced on the suburban section of the Western Railway between Colaba
and Borivili on 5 January 1928 and between Madras Beach and Tambaram
of the Southern Railway
on 11 May 1931. This was primarily to meet the growing traffic on these metros. Thus, before the dawn of Independence, India had 388 KM of electrification on DC traction.
(EMU) services were inaugurated in Howrah-Sheoraphuli
section by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India
on 14 December 1957.
, particularly on French Railways (SNCF
). Indian Railways decided in 1957 to adopt the 25 KV AC system of electrification as a standard, with SNCF as their consultant in the initial stages.
In the wake of industrial development in the Eastern region (due to the setting up of steel plants
, large scale movement of iron
and coal
, and growth in freight traffic which could not be managed by steam traction
} electrification
and dieselisation
had to be introduced in early 1960s to cope up with the growing traffic.
The first section electrified on the 25 KV AC system was Raj Kharswan — Dongoaposi on the South Eastern Railway in 1960. With a view to provide continuity of traction system, the Howrah — Burdwan section of the Eastern Railway and Madras Beach — Tambaram section of the Southern Railway were converted to the 25 KV AC system by 1968.
The manufacture of electric multiple unit
s (EMUs) required for Kolkata
suburban services was taken up at Integral Coach Factory
(ICF), Chennai
and the first EMU rolled out during September 1962.
A General Manager headed the Railway Electrification Organisation set up at Calcutta in 1959. In 1961, the Northern Railway electrification office was set up at Allahabad
for the electrification of the Mughalsarai
— New Delhi
section. This office was headed by an Engineer-in-Chief.
On the recommendation of the J. Raj Committee report in 1978, a number of electrification works were included in the Pink Book, and a Railway Electrification headquarters came into being. Since most of the sanctioned electrification works were falling in the Central and Southern regions of the country, the headquarters of electrification was set up at Nagpur
and functioned under the charge of an Additional General Manager from 1982 to 1984. The Railway Electrification office was shifted to Allahabad under the Additional General Manager from January 1985. A regular General Manager was posted at the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification, Allahabad from July 1987 onwards and this continues today.
The Headquarters office of the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE) is headed by a General Manager and assisted by Electrical, Signal and Telecommunications (S&T), Civil, Store, Personnel, Vigilance and Finance departments. Presently eight Railway Electrification project offices are functioning viz. Ambala
, Bhubaneswar
, Chennai
, Lucknow
, Kota and Secunderabad
, Gorakhpur
, Hajipur
and New Jalpaiguri headed by Chief Project Managers.
of the 1970s. The second oil crisis, in particular, brought to the fore the need for evolving a long term policy for electrification to reduce the dependence of railways on petroleum
based energy.
In the context of a shift from petroleum based energy in the transport sector, the Secretaries Committee on energy headed by the Cabinet Secretary decided in July 1980 that the railways should speed up electrification at a pace of 1,000 route km/year. Accordingly, the pace of electrification was considerably speeded up and Indian Railways achieved progress of 2,812 rkm during the 7th Plan, 2,708 rkm during 8th Plan and 2,484 rkm during 9th Plan making a total of 16,001 rkm. In the recently concluded 10th Plan, electrification of 1,810 rkm has been achieved, which is more than the target of 1,800 rkm.
Six major trunk routes of the Golden Quadrilateral and diagonals viz Delhi - , Delhi - Mumbai via Central and Western Railways, Delhi — Chennai, Mumbai — Calcutta and Howrah—Chennai have already been fully electrified. Electrification of remaining Mumbai-Chennai Route (Nandalur-Pune) is in progress.
A total of 20,059 rkm has been electrified up to 31 March 2010 on Indian Railways, mostly on heavy density routes. This constitutes about 31.65% of the total railway network. At present, approximately 49.7% of passenger traffic and 62.8% of freight traffic is operated by electric traction. The 11th Plan target for electrification is set at above 3,500 rkm and the target to be realized during 2008-09 is 1,000 rkm.
or vacuum switchgear, long creep age solid core insulators and PTFE neutral sections. Eight-wheeler self-propelled OHE
inspection cars have also been introduced to improve maintenance. Action has also been initiated for the procurement of an OHE recording car for monitoring the performance of overhead equipment.
Signalling and telecommunication systems
are also being upgraded by adopting state-of-the-art technology. The semaphore signalling system
is being replaced by a colour light signalling system. Use of colour light signals results in better visibility of signalling aspects to the drivers of the running trains and this makes train running safer and operationally more efficient. The interlocking
system is also being changed to panel or route relay interlocking. Besides speedier movement of traffic, these up-gradation measures contribute towards increased safely.
Underground cables are provided along with electrification, which results in more reliable and better quality communication.
based supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA
) is being provided as against the earlier electro-mechanical Strowger
system of remote control equipment. The SCADA system has facilities for tele-metering
of voltage
, current
, maximum demand and power factor
on a real time basis which enables control of maximum demand and thereby the charges thereof to be paid to the State Electricity Board
s. In addition, this system provides for automatic trouble-shooting and isolation of faulty sections.
Feeding System of power supply on Bina-Katni-Anuppur-Bishrampur/Chirimiri coal route of Central Railway and South-Eastern Railway as distinct from the present conventional 25 KV AC system. With this system the advantage of high voltage transmission, i.e. 50 KV is realized permitting at the same time inter-running of standard 25 KV electric locomotives. This is achieved by an additional power conductor on top of the overhead equipment and the mast with 50 KV being obtained between the overhead equipment and the feeder. In addition, use of return conductor and booster transformers is eliminated completely.
This pilot project has been executed with the technical guidance from Japanese Railways Technical Services
(JARTS). This 2 x 25 KV traction system is already in vogue on the TGV
of France
and Shinkansen
of Japan
.
locomotives, with transfer of technology. They are now going to be produced at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW). Indian Railways have developed chopper
technology for DC electric multiple unit
s in collaboration with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
(BARC) and 20 motor coaches with this technology will be inducted in service in the next year progressively. The chopper technology, in addition to being less maintenance intensive, is expected to save energy by 30% to 34% in the suburban services.
and is, therefore, not prone to theft. It provides superior quality of communication with built in large number of telephone channels to meet future needs of train operation and safety. 2,572 kilometres of optical fibre communication system have been commissioned on the Nagpur-Itarsi, Nagpur-Durg, Itarsi-Bhusawal, Jhajha-Mokama, Tori-Gumia, Ambala-Saharanpur, Adra-Midnapur,VSKP-Golanthra,Shoranur-Ernakulam,Tata-Chakradharpur, Delhi and Bombay area sections as part of railway electrification, so far.
Indian Railways has also taken a policy decision that in future, along with railway electrification, they will lay 24-core fibre optic cable. They have also started making efforts for the commercial exploitation of their existing communication infrastructure and to exploit their "right of way" along the tracks by private parties laying their optical fibre cables.
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is in overall charge of railway electrification over the entire network of Indian Railways
Indian Railways
Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....
. However of late, some electrification works have been entrusted to Rail Vikas Nigam Limited
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited is an organisation associated with Indian Railways whose task is to build engineering works required by Indian Railways.-Background:...
, a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Railways
Ministry of Railways (India)
The Ministry of Railways in India is in charge of the Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport in India. Dinesh Trivedi is the current minister responsible for railways....
of the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
. Additionally small electrification works are being done by zonal railways. The organisation has been functioning since 1961 and is headed by a General Manager. Projects units operate from Ambala
Ambala
Ambala is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border of the states of Haryana and Punjab in India. Politically; Ambala has two sub-areas: Ambala Cantt and Ambala City, approximately 3 kilometers apart from each other...
, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, Secunderabad
Secunderabad
Secunderabad popularly known as the twin city of Hyderabad is located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh north of Hyderabad. Named after Sikandar Jah, the third Nizam of the Asaf Jahi dynasty, Secunderabad was founded in 1806 AD as a British cantonment...
, Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, Kota
Kota, Rajasthan
Kota , formerly known as Kotah, is a city in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located south of state capital, Jaipur. Situated on the banks of Chambal River, the city is the trade centre for an area in which millet, wheat, rice, pulses, coriander and oilseeds are grown; industries...
, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is one of the proposed capitals of the Purvanchal state which is yet to be formed...
and New Jalpaiguri
New Jalpaiguri
New Jalpaiguri is a major railway station of the city of Siliguri in the Indian state of West Bengal. The station is popularly known by its acronym NJP...
.
1500 volt dc
Railway electrification began with the inauguration of the first electric train between Bombay Victoria TerminusChhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus , is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and historic railway station in Mumbai which serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways. Situated in the Bori Bunder area of Mumbai, it was built as a new railway station on the location of the Bori Bunder Station in 1887...
and Kurla
Kurla
Kurla is a suburb of Mumbai. It is also the name of one the busiest railway stations on the Mumbai suburban railway on the central and harbour railway lines of Mumbai...
Harbour on 3 February 1925 on the then existing Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIP) at 1500 V DC. Heavy gradients on the Western Ghats
Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
necessitated the introduction of electric traction on the Central Railway up to Igatpuri
Igatpuri
Igatpuri is a city and a Hill Station municipal council in Nashik District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Western Ghats. The station lies in Nashik District between Mumbai and Nashik Road on the Central Railway. Igatpuri is known for its Buddhist Pagoda for Meditation...
on the North East line and to Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
on the South East line. 1500 volt DC traction was introduced on the suburban section of the Western Railway between Colaba
Colaba
Colaba is a part of the city of Mumbai, India, and also a Lok Sabha constituency. During Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was known as Candil...
and Borivili on 5 January 1928 and between Madras Beach and Tambaram
Tambaram
Tambaram is a suburb of Chennai situated 27 km south of the city in Tamil Nadu, India. It is an urban node. Tambaram is a hub to all major destinations in south Tamil Nadu as it lies on the busy Chennai–Trichy national highway. The highway and the railway line from Chennai Egmore to...
of the Southern Railway
Southern Railway Zone (India)
The Southern Railway is the earliest of the 16 zones of the Indian Railways created in independent India. It was created on April 14, 1951 by merging three state railways namely Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway, and the Mysore State Railway. The South Indian Railway...
on 11 May 1931. This was primarily to meet the growing traffic on these metros. Thus, before the dawn of Independence, India had 388 KM of electrification on DC traction.
3000 volt dc
In the post independence era, electrification of the Howrah-Burdwan section of the Eastern Railway was done at 3000 volt DC during the First Five Year Plan period and completed in 1958. The electric multiple unitElectric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
(EMU) services were inaugurated in Howrah-Sheoraphuli
Sheoraphuli
Sheoraphuli is a small town in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.- History :...
section by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
on 14 December 1957.
25 kv ac
The 25 KV AC system of traction emerged as an economical system of electrification as a result of research and trials in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, particularly on French Railways (SNCF
SNCF
The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
). Indian Railways decided in 1957 to adopt the 25 KV AC system of electrification as a standard, with SNCF as their consultant in the initial stages.
In the wake of industrial development in the Eastern region (due to the setting up of steel plants
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
, large scale movement of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, and growth in freight traffic which could not be managed by steam traction
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
} electrification
Electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
and dieselisation
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
had to be introduced in early 1960s to cope up with the growing traffic.
The first section electrified on the 25 KV AC system was Raj Kharswan — Dongoaposi on the South Eastern Railway in 1960. With a view to provide continuity of traction system, the Howrah — Burdwan section of the Eastern Railway and Madras Beach — Tambaram section of the Southern Railway were converted to the 25 KV AC system by 1968.
The manufacture of electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s (EMUs) required for Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
suburban services was taken up at Integral Coach Factory
Integral Coach Factory
Started in 1952, the Integral Coach Factory is located in Chennai, India. Its primary products are rail coaches. Most of the coaches manufactured are supplied to the Indian Railways, but it has also manufactured coaches for railway companies in other countries, including Thailand, Burma, Taiwan,...
(ICF), Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
and the first EMU rolled out during September 1962.
Conversion
Considering the limitations in the existing 1500 volt DC traction system in the Central Railway and Western Railway, a decision was taken to convert to 25 KV AC traction during 1996-97. Conversion from DC traction to AC traction is in progress.Central Organization
The electrification office was set up in Calcutta as PORE (Project Office for Railway Electrification) during the First Five Year Plan period, when electrification of the Howrah — Burdwan section of the Eastern Railway was taken up.A General Manager headed the Railway Electrification Organisation set up at Calcutta in 1959. In 1961, the Northern Railway electrification office was set up at Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
for the electrification of the Mughalsarai
Mughalsarai
Mughalsarai is a city and a municipal board in Chandauli district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located around 10 km from Varanasi, it is an important railway junction of the Indian Railways. Once, it enjoyed the position of the largest railway marshalling yard of Asia...
— New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
section. This office was headed by an Engineer-in-Chief.
On the recommendation of the J. Raj Committee report in 1978, a number of electrification works were included in the Pink Book, and a Railway Electrification headquarters came into being. Since most of the sanctioned electrification works were falling in the Central and Southern regions of the country, the headquarters of electrification was set up at Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
and functioned under the charge of an Additional General Manager from 1982 to 1984. The Railway Electrification office was shifted to Allahabad under the Additional General Manager from January 1985. A regular General Manager was posted at the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification, Allahabad from July 1987 onwards and this continues today.
The Headquarters office of the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE) is headed by a General Manager and assisted by Electrical, Signal and Telecommunications (S&T), Civil, Store, Personnel, Vigilance and Finance departments. Presently eight Railway Electrification project offices are functioning viz. Ambala
Ambala
Ambala is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border of the states of Haryana and Punjab in India. Politically; Ambala has two sub-areas: Ambala Cantt and Ambala City, approximately 3 kilometers apart from each other...
, Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...
, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, Kota and Secunderabad
Secunderabad
Secunderabad popularly known as the twin city of Hyderabad is located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh north of Hyderabad. Named after Sikandar Jah, the third Nizam of the Asaf Jahi dynasty, Secunderabad was founded in 1806 AD as a British cantonment...
, Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is one of the proposed capitals of the Purvanchal state which is yet to be formed...
, Hajipur
Hajipur
Hajipur is the headquarters of Vaishali district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous for producing bananas, and has a modern railway zonal office. Patna, the capital of Bihar is only 10 km from Hajipur...
and New Jalpaiguri headed by Chief Project Managers.
Planwise progress of electrification on IR
In the wake of industrial development in the Eastern region, electrification and dieselisation had to be introduced in the early 1960s to cope up with the growing traffic. After the completion of the second Five Year Plan, Indian Railways had electrified 216 route-kilometres (rkm) on 25 KV AC. During the Third Plan, along with considerable indigenisation, electrification was extended over another 1,678 rkm. The pace of electrification, however, slowed down until the oil crisisOil crisis
Oil crisis may refer to:1970s*1970s energy crisis*1973 oil crisis*1979 energy crisisPost 1970s*Oil price increase of 1990*2000s energy crisis...
of the 1970s. The second oil crisis, in particular, brought to the fore the need for evolving a long term policy for electrification to reduce the dependence of railways on petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
based energy.
In the context of a shift from petroleum based energy in the transport sector, the Secretaries Committee on energy headed by the Cabinet Secretary decided in July 1980 that the railways should speed up electrification at a pace of 1,000 route km/year. Accordingly, the pace of electrification was considerably speeded up and Indian Railways achieved progress of 2,812 rkm during the 7th Plan, 2,708 rkm during 8th Plan and 2,484 rkm during 9th Plan making a total of 16,001 rkm. In the recently concluded 10th Plan, electrification of 1,810 rkm has been achieved, which is more than the target of 1,800 rkm.
Six major trunk routes of the Golden Quadrilateral and diagonals viz Delhi - , Delhi - Mumbai via Central and Western Railways, Delhi — Chennai, Mumbai — Calcutta and Howrah—Chennai have already been fully electrified. Electrification of remaining Mumbai-Chennai Route (Nandalur-Pune) is in progress.
A total of 20,059 rkm has been electrified up to 31 March 2010 on Indian Railways, mostly on heavy density routes. This constitutes about 31.65% of the total railway network. At present, approximately 49.7% of passenger traffic and 62.8% of freight traffic is operated by electric traction. The 11th Plan target for electrification is set at above 3,500 rkm and the target to be realized during 2008-09 is 1,000 rkm.
| Plan | Pre.Indep. | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Annual Plan | 4th | 5th | Inter Plan | 6th | 7th | Inter Plan | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 11th | 11th | 11th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | 1925-51 | 1951-56 | 1956-61 | 1961-66 | 1966-69 | 1969-74 | 1974-78 | 1978-80 | 1980-85 | 1985-90 | 1990-92 | 1992-97 | 1997–2002 | 2002-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
| R.K.M Electrified | 388 | 529 | 216 | 1678 | 814 | 953 | 533 | 195 | 1522 | 2812 | 1557 | 2708 | 2484 | 1810 | 502 | 797 | 1117 | 956 |
| R.K.M Cumulative | 388 | 529 | 745 | 2423 | 3237 | 4190 | 4723 | 4918 | 6440 | 9252 | 10809 | 13517 | 16001 | 17811 | 18154 | 18942 | 20059 | 21015 |
Technology upgradation
Introduction of Railway Electrification has caused major impetus to Technology up-gradation on Indian Railways. Some of these are listed below.Modernization of Equipment
With a view to bring down the maintenance cost and improve the reliability of power supply system, Railway Electrification has gone in for state-for-the-art technology as prevalent in the international arena viz., dry cast resin transformers, SF-6Sulfur hexafluoride circuit breaker
High-voltage circuit-breakers have greatly changed since they were first introduced in the mid-1950s, and several interrupting principles have been developed that have contributed successively to a large reduction of the operating energy...
or vacuum switchgear, long creep age solid core insulators and PTFE neutral sections. Eight-wheeler self-propelled OHE
Overhead lines
Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...
inspection cars have also been introduced to improve maintenance. Action has also been initiated for the procurement of an OHE recording car for monitoring the performance of overhead equipment.
Signalling and telecommunication systems
Railway signalling
Railway signalling is a system used to control railway traffic safely, essentially to prevent trains from colliding. Being guided by fixed rails, trains are uniquely susceptible to collision; furthermore, trains cannot stop quickly, and frequently operate at speeds that do not enable them to stop...
are also being upgraded by adopting state-of-the-art technology. The semaphore signalling system
Railway semaphore signal
One of the earliest forms of fixed railway signal is the semaphore. These signals display their different indications to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. Semaphore signals were patented in the early 1840s by Joseph James Stevens, and soon became the most...
is being replaced by a colour light signalling system. Use of colour light signals results in better visibility of signalling aspects to the drivers of the running trains and this makes train running safer and operationally more efficient. The interlocking
Interlocking
In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively referred to as an interlocking plant...
system is also being changed to panel or route relay interlocking. Besides speedier movement of traffic, these up-gradation measures contribute towards increased safely.
Underground cables are provided along with electrification, which results in more reliable and better quality communication.
Supervisory Remote Control & Data Acquisition System (SCADA)
The 220 / 132 / 25 KV power supply network for electrification extends along the track over a zone of about 200/300 km. It is centrally controlled from the division control center through remote control arrangements to ensure un-interrupted power supply to the track overhead equipment. In the present day electrification projects, a state-of-the-art microprocessorMicroprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
based supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA
SCADA
SCADA generally refers to industrial control systems : computer systems that monitor and control industrial, infrastructure, or facility-based processes, as described below:...
) is being provided as against the earlier electro-mechanical Strowger
Strowger switch
The Strowger switch, also known as Step-by-Step or SXS, is an early electromechanical telephone switching system invented by Almon Brown Strowger...
system of remote control equipment. The SCADA system has facilities for tele-metering
Telemetry
Telemetry is a technology that allows measurements to be made at a distance, usually via radio wave transmission and reception of the information. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure...
of voltage
Voltage
Voltage, otherwise known as electrical potential difference or electric tension is the difference in electric potential between two points — or the difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points...
, current
Electric current
Electric current is a flow of electric charge through a medium.This charge is typically carried by moving electrons in a conductor such as wire...
, maximum demand and power factor
Power factor
The power factor of an AC electric power system is defined as the ratio of the real power flowing to the load over the apparent power in the circuit, and is a dimensionless number between 0 and 1 . Real power is the capacity of the circuit for performing work in a particular time...
on a real time basis which enables control of maximum demand and thereby the charges thereof to be paid to the State Electricity Board
State Electricity Board
-India:* Assam State Electricity Board* Jharkhand State Electricity Board* Kerala State Electricity Board* Maharashtra State Electricity Board* West Bengal State Electricity Board-United Kingdom:...
s. In addition, this system provides for automatic trouble-shooting and isolation of faulty sections.
2 x 25 KV System
Indian Railways have introduced 2 x 25 KV AutotransformerAutotransformer
An autotransformer is an electrical transformer with only one winding. The auto prefix refers to the single coil acting on itself rather than any automatic mechanism. In an autotransformer portions of the same winding act as both the primary and secondary. The winding has at least three taps where...
Feeding System of power supply on Bina-Katni-Anuppur-Bishrampur/Chirimiri coal route of Central Railway and South-Eastern Railway as distinct from the present conventional 25 KV AC system. With this system the advantage of high voltage transmission, i.e. 50 KV is realized permitting at the same time inter-running of standard 25 KV electric locomotives. This is achieved by an additional power conductor on top of the overhead equipment and the mast with 50 KV being obtained between the overhead equipment and the feeder. In addition, use of return conductor and booster transformers is eliminated completely.
This pilot project has been executed with the technical guidance from Japanese Railways Technical Services
Railway Technical Research Institute
, or , is the technical research company under the Japan Railways group of companies.- Overview :RTRI was established in its current form in 1986 just before Japanese National Railways was privatised and split into separate JR group companies. RTRI conducts research about everything related to...
(JARTS). This 2 x 25 KV traction system is already in vogue on the TGV
TGV
The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Shinkansen
Shinkansen
The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Electric Rolling Stock
As part of the modernization plan, Indian Railways imported eighteen 6,000 horsepower thyristorThyristor
A thyristor is a solid-state semiconductor device with four layers of alternating N and P-type material. They act as bistable switches, conducting when their gate receives a current trigger, and continue to conduct while they are forward biased .Some sources define silicon controlled rectifiers and...
locomotives, with transfer of technology. They are now going to be produced at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW). Indian Railways have developed chopper
Chopper (electronics)
A chopper circuit is used to refer to numerous types of electronic switching devices and circuits. The term has become somewhat ill-defined, and as a result is much less used nowadays than it was perhaps 30 or more years ago....
technology for DC electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s in collaboration with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre is India's primary nuclear research facility based in Mumbai. It has a number of nuclear reactors, all of which are used for India's nuclear power and research programme.- History :...
(BARC) and 20 motor coaches with this technology will be inducted in service in the next year progressively. The chopper technology, in addition to being less maintenance intensive, is expected to save energy by 30% to 34% in the suburban services.
Optical Fibre Communication
Indian Railway have gone in for modern communication technology and are using optical fibre cable. This cable is free from copperCopper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and is, therefore, not prone to theft. It provides superior quality of communication with built in large number of telephone channels to meet future needs of train operation and safety. 2,572 kilometres of optical fibre communication system have been commissioned on the Nagpur-Itarsi, Nagpur-Durg, Itarsi-Bhusawal, Jhajha-Mokama, Tori-Gumia, Ambala-Saharanpur, Adra-Midnapur,VSKP-Golanthra,Shoranur-Ernakulam,Tata-Chakradharpur, Delhi and Bombay area sections as part of railway electrification, so far.
Indian Railways has also taken a policy decision that in future, along with railway electrification, they will lay 24-core fibre optic cable. They have also started making efforts for the commercial exploitation of their existing communication infrastructure and to exploit their "right of way" along the tracks by private parties laying their optical fibre cables.