Rails of Progress: Indian Railways’ Nine-Year Journey Marked by Sustainability, Digitization, and Milestones

Marking another year-end milestone, Indian Railways showcases its significant strides towards sustainable development, digitalization, and improved services. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Indian Railways proudly announces the production of over 5,250 electric locomotives over the past nine years, a critical move in its commitment to becoming a Net Zero Carbon Emitter by 2030.

This accomplishment aligns with India’s impressive feat of electrifying 90% of the broad gauge network by March 2023. The electrification effort covered 58,812 Route Kilometers (RKMs) out of the total 65,300 km network.

Free WiFi on Indian Railways

In the realm of digital transformation, Indian Railways has achieved another feat by providing free WiFi services at more than 6,000 railway stations, contributing to improved connectivity for passengers.

Reducing Rail Accidents

The efforts of the ministry paid off as the railways was able to bring down the consequential train accidents from 1,243 during the period 2006-07 to 2013-14, to 638 during the period 2014-15 to 2022-23 which is a reduction of 54 per cent on a per year basis, the official pointed out. Accidents per million train kilometers (APMTKM), an important Safety Index, were reduced from 0.23 in 2006-07 to 0.10 in 2013-14, and further to 0.03 in 2022-23, the official highlighted.

In the last five-year period between 2009-2014, 5,687 level crossing gates were eliminated. He said that the ministry had from April 2014 to January 2019, eliminated 8,948 Level Crossing gates, 3,479 of these in 2018-19 alone. The last unmanned level crossing (UMLC) on the broad gauge network of the railways was eliminated on January 31, 2019.

During 2019-2023, 3,981 Manned level crossings were also removed from the network. To improve the safety of passengers, the railways also decided to stop the production of the ICF type coaches from the year 2018-19 and go for the LHB coaches. The Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches are more technologically superior and have better riding, aesthetics and safety features than conventional Integral Coach Factory (ICF) type coaches.

The official said that a decision was taken for complete switchover to production of LHB coaches which have better crash-worthy features to withstand the effect of accidents in January 2018. Between 2009 and 2014, only 3,1860 LHB coaches were built on an average of 372 coaches per year. But from 2014-23, the pace of the manufacturing of new LHB coaches per year has now gone up to 3,550, as 31,956 coaches have been built in the last nine years.

Vista Dome Coaches

The introduction of Vista Dome coaches on the Visakhapatnam-Araku route in 2017 has seen significant success, with India now boasting over 100 Vista Dome coaches deployed on various scenic routes across the country. These all-weather glass-ceiling AC coaches enhance the travel experience, especially on picturesque routes.

Kavach Technology

The official further said that the ministry also decided to deploy indigenously developed National ATP (Automatic Train Protection) System named as “Kavach” on the main line network. This Kavach system has been developed to avoid over speeding, signal passing at danger and better train running in inclement weather like dense fog etc. hence better passenger safety.

Focus On North East

Besides improving safety, the railway ministry also focused on connecting the northeast with the railway network. In the last nine years, the ministry has connected all the seven north eastern states with the rail network except Sikkim, where the work is in progress. He said that out of these seven north eastern states, rail connectivity to four — Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram — have been provided after 2014.

Rail connectivity to Meghalaya was done in November 2014, in Arunachal Pradesh’s Itanagar it was done in February 2015, Manipur’s Jiribam was connected with railways in May-2016 and Mizoram’s Bhairabi was brought on rail network in March-2016. The official said that the existing Meter Gauge (MG) railway line to Agartala in Tripura was converted into broad gauge in May 2016.

New Investment

Looking forward, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw outlines an ambitious plan to invest Rs 1 lakh crore in the upcoming period. The investment aims to replace aging rolling stock, necessitating the introduction of 7,000-8,000 new train sets. This strategic move underscores Indian Railways’ commitment to modernizing its infrastructure for a more efficient and sustainable future.