RITES wins two orders worth Rs 1,741 crore for railway electrification

The projects are part of the government’s plan to complete electrification of about 6,000 route km in 2021-22 and fully electrify the country’s rail tracks by 2024. The Indian Railways aims to electrify another 6,500 route km in 2022-23 and about 5,300 route km in 2023-24.

Electrification Process

Emphasis has been given to railway electrification to reduce the nation’s dependence on imported crude oil-based fuels and to enhance energy security.

The electrification of the Indian Railways is a multi-step process that starts with planning by engineers, leading to the erection of masts, tunnel brackets, and coordinating the availability of required goods and equipment. Once aligned, drums consisting of cadmium, copper and copper wires are loaded on the automatic wiring train.

After all approvals, the goods and equipment are moved to the pre-defined site where wiring of both the catenary and contact overhead wires is done simultaneously by an automatic wiring train coupled with a utility track vehicle on the already erected bolts with a tower wagon in support.

Wiring along with processes such as dropping, flipping, and counterweight erection ensure that proper tension and profile on the overhead lines are achieved.

These lines are then connected to sub-stations to ensure a constant flow of electricity throughout the line, with already laid lines covering stations, bridges, road underbridge, tunnels and ongoing work.