Board member Ghanshyam Singh says local sources and renewable energy could be tapped for the purpose; project estimated to cost ₹12,000 crore
The proposed electrification of all broad gauge (BG) lines in the country would help Indian Railways save a whopping ₹13,500 crore a year besides creating a‘green low cost transport system’, Mr. Ghanshyam Singh, member (traction), Railway Board, has said.
Talking to reporters after inspecting the Pamban rail bridge near here on Sunday, he said the Railways had launched a mission to electrify all BG railway tracks at an estimated cost of ₹12,000 crore.
Win-win situation
The electric traction would be cheaper as the Railways proposed to tap local sources and renewable energy which could be generated at an affordable cost, he said.
“This is a win-win situation for all countrymen,” he said. The Madurai-Rameswaram sector would also be covered under the electrification project in the due course.
His visit to Pamban rail bridge, India’s only cantilever bridge, was to study the feasibility of electrification of the bridge, Mr. Singh said. He added that the best suited engineering solution would be adopted to address the problem of height.
Cost of electrification
A new bridge across Pamban Straits was still in design and planning stage, he said.
A press release from the Madurai division of Southern Railway said the cost of electrification in the 161 km-long stretch between Madurai and Rameswaram would be around ₹158 crore.
Mr. Singh was accompanied by Chief Electric Traction Engineer K.V.V. Satyanarayana and Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Madurai division, Lalit Kumar Mansukhani. Nagendra Prasad from Central Organisation of Railway Electrification (CORE), Ramakrishna from Railway Vikas Nigam Limited and officials from Madurai division of the Southern Railway were also present.
Source: thehindu
