Meghalaya First Electric Train: After a long wait, Meghalaya has now got its first electric train. Railway has completed the electrification work between Abhayapuri-Pancharatna. After this the speed of trains in Northeast India is expected to improve.
Trains will be able to operate directly from Mendipathar
Mendipathar is the only railway station in the north-eastern state of Meghalaya which is operational since 2014 after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi. With the commissioning of electric traction, trains hauled by electric locomotives will now be able to operate directly from Mendipathar in Meghalaya, increasing the average speed of the Northeast. Along with this, more passenger and freight trains will be able to operate through these sections at full sectional speed. According to Railways, now parcel and freight trains hauled by electric locomotives from other states will be able to reach Meghalaya directly.
Meghalaya gets its first train on Electric Traction!
Forging another milestone in , the First train 🚊started its journey on electric traction from Mendipathar in Meghalaya.https://t.co/BleYs2TC8Y pic.twitter.com/QikZwcNZl9
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) March 17, 2023
Mobility of trains will improve in Northeast
According to Railways, electrification will significantly improve mobility of trains in Northeast India. In addition to reducing pollution caused by switching from fossil fuels to electricity, the efficiency of the railway system in this area will also improve. This will facilitate seamless traffic and save precious foreign exchange besides saving time for trains to and from the North Eastern states.
It may be noted that the Ministry of Railways has set a target of reducing its carbon footprint by achieving zero carbon emission by 2030.
It is noteworthy that the first electric train in India ran between Bombay VT (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai) and Kurla Harbor on February 3, 1925. The train was electrified on 1500 V DC (Direct Current). Before the country became independent, India had 388 km of DC electrification.
After this, Indian Railways had completed electrification of about 45,881 (80.20 per cent) Route Kilometers (RKM) of the total broad-gauge network (65,141 RKM) by March, 2022.