Low-Carbon Emission Initiative by Indian Railways—A Case Study

Abstract

Indian Railways (IR), the fourth largest railway network in the world, has the vision to become a green transporter by reducing its carbon footprint. The energy consumption of IR in 2020 was approximately 18,410 million units for traction and 2,338 million units for non-traction load. IR has taken significant steps to reduce its carbon footprint and fuel costs and India is committed to becoming a “net-zero” carbon emission country by 2030. Some of its key initiatives toward decarbonization are 100 percent electrification of the railways broad gauge network, reductions in energy consumption, and meeting energy demand through renewable energy. IR currently has 220 MW of renewable energy capacity, with nearly 3,450 MW of renewable energy capacity in the development pipeline. It is also anticipated that with the use of renewable energy in the transportation sector, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions could be reduced by approximately 40 percent. Asia's largest railway network with 115,000 track kilometers, 8,500 stations, and operating approximately 12,000 trains every day, IR is considered one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels in India—consuming approximately 2.7 billion liters of diesel annually.