Central Organisation for Railway Electrification

The Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE), headquartered in Allahabad, India, is centralised agency for railway electrification of the Indian Railways network. The organisation, founded in 1961, is headed by a General Manager. Project units operate in Ambala, Bangalore, Chennai, Secunderabad, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Danapur, and New Jalpaiguri.

Central Organisation for Railway Electrification
Government-owned
IndustryRailways, Electrification
Founded19 February 1961
Headquarters
Allahabad
,
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
Websitewww.core.indianrailways.gov.in

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.

As of 1 April 2020, Indian Railways has electrified 39,866 route kms which accounts for 58.49% of total route kms and 62.65% of total broad-gauge route kms.[1] It is planned to electrify all routes of IR by 2024.[2] The entire electrified mainline rail network in India uses 25 kV AC; DC is used only for metros and trams.

History

1500 V DC

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

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
Main article: 25 kV AC railway electrification

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

The electrification office was established in Calcutta as Project Office for Railway Electrification (PORE) in 1951, when electrification of the Howrah–Burdwan 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 Mughalsarai–New 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
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)3885292161,6788149535331951,5222,8121,5572,708
Cumulative (rkm)3885297452,4233,2374,1904,7234,9186,4409,25210,80913,517
Plan 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 13th 13th
Period 1997–2002 2002–07 2007–12 2012–17 2017–18 2018-19 2019-20
Electrified (rkm)2,4841,81020436271408752764378
Cumulative (rkm)16,00117,8111985426125302123548839866

Status
State-wise electrification (broad gauge only)
as of 1 Apr 2020[1]
State Total
route km		 Electrified
route km		 % Electrification
(BG to BG)
Andhra Pradesh3823311181.38
Arunachal Pradesh1200
Assam251900
Bihar3454268877.82
Chandigarh1616100
Chhattisgarh1143102990.03
Delhi183183100
Goa18800
Gujarat3686142838.74
Haryana1699152089.46
Himachal Pradesh675074.63
Jammu & Kashmir29816354.70
Jharkhand2571213082.85
Karnataka378787022.97
Kerala104585581.82
Madhya Pradesh4491374783.43
Manipur1300
Meghalaya900
Mizoram200
Maharashtra5678335759.12
Nagaland1100
Odisha2623249295.01
Punjab2253111949.67
Pondicherry221150.00
Rajasthan5410210238.85
Sikkim000
Telangana1823138075.70
Tamil Nadu3783239763.36
Tripura22600
Uttar Pradesh8326609473.19
Uttarakhand34114141.35
West Bengal4129298372.25
Total (BG)636313986662.65

Note:

  • Total (BG + MG + NG) rkm: 68155 route km
  • Total Electrification %: 58.49%
Zone-wise electrification (broad gauge only)
as of 1 Apr 2020[1]
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 68.24
NCR 3222 2569 79.73
NER 2994 1738 58.05
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 4805 2578 53.65
WCR 3010 2525 83.89
KRCL 740 109 14.73
Kolkata Metro 27 27 100
Total (BG) 63631 39866 62.65

Note:

  • Total (BG + MG + NG) rkm: 68155 route km
  • Total Electrification %: 58.49%

Targets
  • Target date for full electrification (Including new lines and gauge conversion): December 2024 (25,000 rkm)[2]
  • Annual fuel savings after full electrification: ₹13,500 crore (US$2 billion)[2]

Modernisation
See also: Future of rail transport in India

Rolling stock

On 31 March 2019, the number of electric locomotives was 6,059.[3] As part of its modernisation plan, Indian Railways imported eighteen 6,000-horsepower thyristor locomotives with technology transfer; they are now produced at the Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW). Indian Railways have developed chopper technology for DC electric multiple units in collaboration with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), and 20 motor coaches with chopper technology will be placed in service. In addition to being less maintenance-intensive, chopper technology is expected to have an energy savings of 30 to 34 percent in suburban service.

Equipment

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

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.

Signalling

Signalling systems are also being upgraded, with the semaphore signalling system being replaced by a coloured-light signalling system. Colour light signals are more visible to train drivers, improving safety and efficiency. The interlocking system is being changed to panel or relay interlocking.

Optical fibre communications
See also: RailTel Corporation of India

Indian Railways have implemented communications technology using optical fibre cable. On 31 March 2019, 55,835 rkm of optical fibre cable had been commissioned. Railway-control communications, essential for train operations, are also being transferred to OFC. Control communications on 55,835 rkm have been shifted to OFC.[3] Optical-fibre technology has also aided mobile telephony from moving trains. With this technology, the driver and guard can talk to each other (and to the control centre) from a moving train; this would be especially useful in an emergency.

Other organisations involved in electrification

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.

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See also

References
  1. "Railway electrification" (PDF). www.indianrailways.gov.in. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  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. "Indian Railways Year Book 2018-19" (PDF).
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