Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has completed the electrification work of a total of 649 Route Kilometer (RKM) or 1,294 Tonne Kilometer (TKM) of High-Density Network (HDN) from Katihar in Bihar to Guwahati in Assam.
With the completion of electrification work, Guwahati will now be connected to the country’s major cities on seamless electric traction.
Besides being green transportation, the work also facilitates passenger trains with higher speed and heavier goods trains.
Due to seamless train operation, traction change at New Jalpaiguri, New Coochbehar will now be done away with, enhancing the mobility of the trains.
Running time between Guwahati to Katihar / Malda Town is likely to be reduced by up to two hours as trains can now move at a higher speed due to better acceleration.
Line capacity enhancement of up to 10 to 15 per cent shall reduce saturation on many of the sections on the NF Railway, allowing more coaching trains to run.
Also, electrification will lead to better maintenance as faster trains shall lead to more time for maintenance blocks.
Indian Railways has embarked upon an ambitious plan of electrification of its complete Broad Gauge network by 2023-24, which would result in better fuel energy usage resulting in increased throughput, reduced fuel expenditure, and savings in precious foreign exchange.