Gujarat Achieves 100% Rail Electrification and It becomes 24th State/UT to Do So.
National
In May 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Gujarat has become the 24th State/Union Territory (UT) in India to achieve 100% electrification of its railway tracks. This milestone was marked during the inauguration of the Dahod Electric Locomotive Factory in Dahod, Gujarat.
- The completion of electrification on the Sabarmati-Botad section was the final step in achieving full electrification of Gujarat’s railway network.
- The first electric train in India ran between Mumbai and Thane in 1925. To accelerate railway electrification, Indian Railways (IR) established the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE) headquartered in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. IR aims to achieve 100% electrification of its broad gauge network by the end of the financial year 2025-26. This initiative supports India’s goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions in railways by 2030 and contributing to the national target of net-zero emissions by 2070.
- Between 1948 and March 2014, India electrified 21,801 kilometres of railway routes. From 2014-15 to February 2025, an additional 45,922 kilometres were electrified. Since 2020-21, Indian Railways has been electrifying over 6,000 kilometres of rail routes annually, showing a significant acceleration in recent years.
Main Point :- (i) As of February 2025, about 98.83% of India’s rail network is electrified, making India the second highest globally in rail electrification after Switzerland, which has 99% electrified tracks. This reflects India’s strong commitment to sustainable and efficient railway operations.
(ii) By May 2025, 24 states and Union Territories have achieved 100% rail electrification. These include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tripura, and West Bengal.
(iii) Several other states are nearing full electrification with high percentages as of May 2025. Rajasthan is at 98.57%, Karnataka 95.95%, Tamil Nadu 95.66%, Goa 91.44%, and Assam 85.18%. These states continue to work towards complete electrification in the near future.
About Indian Railways (IR)
Chairman and CEO : Sathis Kumar
Headquarters : New Delhi
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