Central Organisation for Railway Electrification

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Central Organisation for Railway Electrification
IndustryRailways, electrification
Founded1979[1]
Headquarters
Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
,
India
Area served
India
Key people
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal
Board Chairman V.K.Yadav
General Manager Y.P.Singh
ProductsRailway electrification
ParentMinistry of Railways
Websitecore.indianrailways.gov.in

The Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE), headquartered in Allahabad (Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh, India, is centralised agency for railway electrification of the Indian Railways network. The organisation, founded in 1979,[1] is headed by a General Manager. Project units operate in Ambala, Bengaluru, Chennai, Secunderabad, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Danapur, and New Jalpaiguri.

CORE headquarters is having Electrical, Signal and Telecommunications (S&T), Civil Engineering, Stores, Personnel, Vigilance and Finance departments. Railway Electrification project units, are headed by Chief Project Directors.

Indian Railways has electrified 45,881 Route kilometers (RKM) that is about 71% of the total Broad-Gauge network of Indian Railways (64,689 RKM, including Konkan Railway) by March 31, 2021 [1] It is planned to electrify all routes of Indian Railways by 2024.[2] The entire electrified mainline rail network in India uses 25 kV AC; DC is used only for metros and trams.

History[edit]

1500 V DC[edit]

Railway electrification in India began with the first electric train (1500 V DC), between Bombay Victoria Terminus and Kurla on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway's (GIPR) Harbour Line, on 3 February 1925. Steep grades on the Western Ghats necessitated the introduction of electric traction on the GIPR to Igatpuri on the North East Line and to Pune on the South East Line. 1500 V DC traction was introduced on the suburban section of the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway between Colaba and Borivili on 5 January 1928, and between Madras Beach and Tambaram of the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway on 11 May 1931, to meet growing traffic needs. The last sections of 1500 V DC in India, from Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus Mumbai to Panvel and Thane to Vashi, were upgraded to 25 kV AC in April 2016.

3000 V DC[edit]

The electrification of the Howrah-Burdwan section of the Eastern Railway at 3000 V DC was completed in 1958. The first 3000 V DC EMU service began on the Howrah-Sheoraphuli section on 14 December 1957. The last section of 3000 V DC in India, from Howrah to Burdwan, was upgraded to 25 kV AC in 1968.

25 kV AC[edit]

The 25 kV AC system emerged as an economical form of electrification as a result of research and trials in Europe, particularly on French Railways (SNCF). Indian Railways decided to adopt the 25 kV AC system of electrification as a standard in 1957, with SNCF their consultant in the early stages, later taken over by the "50 c/s Group". The joint venture was founded in 1954 by several European railway manufacturers and was dedicated to the development and construction of locomotives powered by 50 Hz alternating current. It arranged the supply contracts for the WAM-1, WAG-1 and WAG-3 locomotives and its spare parts.

The first section electrified with the 25 kV AC system was Raj Kharswan–Dongoaposi, on the South Eastern Railway, on 15 December 1959 and first electric train run. The first 25 kV AC EMUs, for Kolkata suburban service, were introduced in September 1962.

Organisation[edit]

The electrification office was established in Calcutta as Project Office for Railway Electrification (PORE) in 1951, when electrification of the HowrahBurdwan section of the Eastern Railway was begun. A general manager headed the Railway Electrification Organisation, established in Calcutta in 1959. In 1961, the Northern Railway electrification office (headed by an engineer-in-chief) was established in Allahabad for the electrification of the MughalsaraiNew Delhi section. In accordance with the 1978 J. Raj Committee report, a number of electrification projects were included and a railway-electrification headquarters established. Since most of the electrification projects were in Central and South India, the electrification headquarters was established in Nagpur under an additional general manager from 1982 to 1984. The headquarters was moved to Allahabad under the additional general manager in January 1985 and was renamed Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE). A general manager was appointed in July 1987.

Electrification progress[edit]

Plan Before 1951 1st 2nd 3rd Annual plans 4th 5th Interplan 6th 7th Interplan 8th
Period 1925–51 1951–56 1956–61 1961–66 1966–69 1969–74 1974–78 1978–80 1980–85 1985–90 1990–92 1992–97
Electrified (rkm) 388 529 216 1,678 814 953 533 195 1,522 2,812 1,557 2,708
Cumulative (rkm) 388 529 745 2,423 3,237 4,190 4,723 4,918 6,440 9,252 10,809 13,517
Plan 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 13th 13th 13th
Period 1997–2002 2002–07 2007–12 2012–17 2017–18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21
Electrified (rkm) 2,484 1,810 2,043 6,271 4,087 5,276 4,378 6,015
Cumulative (rkm) 16,001 17,811 19,854 26,125 30,212 35,488 39,866 45,881

Status[edit]

State-wise electrification (broad gauge only)
as of 1 Apr 2021[3]
State Total
route km
Electrified
route km
% Electrification
(BG to BG)
Andhra Pradesh 3823 3111 81.38
Arunachal Pradesh 12 0 0
Assam 2519 110 4.36
Bihar 3454 2688 77.82
Chandigarh 16 16 100
Chhattisgarh 1143 1029 90.03
Delhi 183 183 100
Goa 188 0 0
Gujarat 3686 1428 38.74
Haryana 1699 1520 89.46
Himachal Pradesh 67 50 74.63
Jammu & Kashmir 298 163 54.70
Jharkhand 2571 2130 82.85
Karnataka 3787 870 22.97
Kerala 1045 855 81.82
Madhya Pradesh 4491 3747 83.43
Manipur 13 0 0
Meghalaya 9 0 0
Mizoram 2 0 0
Maharashtra 5678 3357 59.12
Nagaland 11 0 0
Odisha 2623 2492 95.01
Punjab 2253 1119 49.67
Puducherry 22 11 50.00
Rajasthan 5410 2102 38.85
Sikkim 0 0 0
Telangana 1823 1380 75.70
Tamil Nadu 3783 2397 63.36
Tripura 226 0 0
Uttar Pradesh 8326 6094 73.19
Uttarakhand 341 141 41.35
West Bengal 4129 4129 100
Total (BG) 63631 45,881 72.10

Note:

  • Total (BG + MG + NG) rkm: 68155 route km
  • Total Electrification %: 62.69%
Zone-wise electrification (broad gauge only)
as of 1 Apr 2021[3]
Zone Total
route km
Electrified
route km
% Electrification
(BG to BG)
CR 3853 2928 75.99
ER 2804 2235 79.71
ECR 3883 3336 85.91
ECoR 2771 2677 96.61
NR 7057 4816 71.00
NCR 3222 2569 79.73
NER 2994 1738 60.00
NFR 4112 319 7.76
NWR 5083 1801 35.43
SR 4834 3381 69.94
SCR 6058 3744 61.8
SER 2713 2392 88.17
SECR 2099 1863 88.76
SWR 3566 731 20.50
WR 4,989 3,128 62.69
WCR 3010 3010 100
KRCL 740 109 14.73
Kolkata Metro 27 27 100
Total (BG) 63631 45,881 72.10

Note:

  • Total (BG + MG + NG) rkm: 68155 route km
  • Total Electrification %: 62.69%

Targets[edit]

  • Target date for full electrification (Including new lines and gauge conversion): December 2024[2]
  • Annual fuel savings after full electrification: 13,500 crore (US$2 billion)[2]

Modernisation[edit]

Equipment[edit]

To reduce maintenance costs and improve the reliability of power-supply systems, CORE has adopted state-of-the-art technology: cast resin transformers, SF6 circuit breakers or vacuum switchgear, long-creepage solid-core insulators and PTFE-neutral sections. Eight-wheeled, self-propelled OHE inspection cars have been introduced to improve maintenance, and an OHE recording car has been requested to monitor the performance of overhead equipment.

SCADA[edit]

The 220-132-25 kV power-supply network for electrification extends along the track for about 200 to 300 kilometres (120 to 190 mi). It is remotely controlled from the division control centre to ensure an uninterrupted power supply to the track overhead equipment. In electrification projects, a microprocessor-based supervisory control and data acquisition control system is replacing the earlier electro-mechanical Strowger system of remote-control equipment. SCADA can telemeter voltage, current, maximum demand and power factor on a real-time basis, enabling control of maximum demand and electrical cost. The system also provides automatic troubleshooting and isolation of faulty sections.

Other organisations involved in electrification[edit]

Some electrification projects have been entrusted to other agencies like RVNL (2624 RKM), IRCON (170 RKM), PGCIL (597 RKM) and RITES (170 RKM) under the Ministry of Railways and small electrification projects are carried out by zonal railways.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Home page", Central Organisation for Railway Electrification, Ministry of Railways, Government of India, retrieved 24 May 2021
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Mission Electrification to save railways power bill by Rs. 13.51k crore". The New Indian Express. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Railway electrification" (PDF). www.indianrailways.gov.in. Retrieved 18 July 2020.

External links[edit]

Template:Railway electrification

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