Railways says no plan to levy diesel surcharge

Indian Railways said it has no plan to levy diesel surcharge on trains that are run on diesel locomotives.

Dismissing the speculation that the railway may impose diesel surcharge on trains due to a fuel hike, the railways said in a statement that it has no such proposal.

Railways has been aggressively pushing electrification of routes to reduce its dependence on imported fuels and cut down emissions.

According to the railways, it achieved electrification of 52,247 route kilometres (RKM) out of 65,414 RKM. The railways also said it has completed electrification of 80 per cent of its broad gauge route. The remaining 20 per cent of railway line electrification will be completed by the end of 2023.

The railways are aiming for 100 per cent electrification of all routes to reduce carbon emission and improve train operative efficiency in order to become the world's largest Green Railways by 2030, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said in the recent Parliament.

By phasing out diesel locomotives, the national transporter aims to save around Rs 11,500 crore annually, mainly spent on the purchase of diesel, said the minister earlier.

Recently the railways made two major achievements in the electrification of their routes. The Konkan Railway Corporation has completed electrification on its entire 741 km route between Roha in Maharashtra and Thokur in Karnataka. In a similar development, the South Central Railway (SCR) also completed the electrification of 163 km of railway lines on various sections in Andhra Pradesh.

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