A total of 59,524 km length of broad gauge (BG) rail line has been electrified in India so far, the government informed Parliament.
“As on August 1, a total 59,524 km length of Broad Gauge (BG) rail line has been electrified,” Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
The Railway Minister said electrification of rail lines offers benefits such as reduced operating cost, haulage of heavier freight trains and longer passenger trains, among others.
He said the completion of Electrification projects depends on various factors like forest clearances by officials of forest department, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of projects site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic conditions etc.
“All these factors affect the completion time of the project(s). As such the confirmed time frame for completion of project(s) cannot be ascertained at this stage,” Vaishnaw said.