Today (February 3, 2025) marks an important milestone for Indian Railways with 100 years of electric railways. This day, a century back, the first electric-powered train journey in India was run between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Kurla in Mumbai - a distance of 16 km. Since then It’s been a long journey with India now inching towards 100 per cent electrification (over 95 per cent now) of its broad gauge (BG) network.

Since 2014-15, Indian Railways completed electrification of about 45,200 Route km BG network. There is a substantial jump in electrification from about 1.42 Km/day during 2004-14 to about 19.7 Km/day during 2023-24, according to November 2024 data. From 388 km in 1951, the electrification network expanded rapidly to nearly 100 per cent.

Werner von Siemens is credited with presenting the world’s first electric train in 1879, but India saw its first electric train only in 1925.

The first electric train in India ran using 1,500 Volts (V) Direct Current (DC) thus marking the beginning of clean electric transport in India. The country became the 24th country worldwide to operate electric railways and the third in Asia.

By 1966, electric traction accounted for more than half of the freight traffic in Eastern and South Eastern Railway zones. Electrification also expanded rapidly in suburban networks, notably in Howrah, Sealdah, and Kharagpur divisions. The advantages of electric trains—reduced diesel dependency, improved efficiency, and a cleaner environment—fueled continued growth.

In Southern Railway (SR), the first electrified section was the Madras Beach – Tambaram Metre Gauge route, commissioned in 1931. Today, the zone has achieved 96 per cent electrification of its total 5,093 route km , exemplifying Indian Railways’ commitment to Mission 100 per cent electrification, according to SR.

Lalit Chandra Trivedi, former General Manager of East Central Railways, said the biggest achievement of the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been the electrification of railway tracks, which is likely to touch 100 per cent of BG tracks in fiscal 2026.

While the environmental advantage in real terms will be available when the Indian electric grid starts sourcing its electricity from renewables. Nearly 75 per cent of electricity as on date is sourced from fossil fuels mainly coal, he said.

However, electrification has already resulted in lower traction cost per unit of transport - it is 50 per cent lower when compared with diesel. It has higher speeds and heavier trailing loads, ⁠improved efficiency of transportation as 100 per ent electrification results in seamless movement of trains avoiding traction change and refuelling halts required for Diesel traction. It has ⁠reduced dependence on imported crude, he said.

The line haul traction cost per 1,000 Gross Tonne Kilometres (GTKM) on Indian Railways varies between electric and diesel traction, with electric traction being more cost-effective.

For example, in passenger services, the electric traction the cost is ₹123.5 per 1,000 GTKM as compared to ₹213 per 1,000 GTKM in diesel traction. This indicates that electric traction is cheaper by ₹89.5 per 1,000 GTKM for passenger services.

In freight services, the line haul cost per 1,000 GTKM for diesel traction is 3.05 times higher than that of electric traction for freight traffic. These figures highlight the cost efficiency of electric traction over diesel, which is a significant factor in Indian Railways’ ongoing efforts toward complete electrification, he said.

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