West Central Rly completes electrification of 3,012-km route

The West Central Railway (WCR) has taken a lead over other zones in the country by electrifying its entire 3,012 km route, a senior official said on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters here, the WCR's general manager Shailendra Kumar Singh said the zonal railway is going to save at least Rs 100 crore per year with the electrification of its entire route.

''The Srinagar-Jalindi route in Kota division (Rajasthan) was the last route to be electrified. The safety clearance to run trains on this route was received two days ago (March 29),'' the official said.

The electrification of routes has helped cut the expenditure on maintenance of locomotives, as the electric ones require less maintenance than diesel engines, he said.

On starting MEMU trains on certain routes, Singh said, the coronavirus pandemic had caused a delay.

''MEMU trains will replace traditional passenger trains run for small stations between the major junctions of the zone including Jabalpur-Katni and Bhopal-Bina,'' he said.

The improvement of track infrastructure is underway on the Itarsi-Jabalpur route to increase the speed of trains, he said.

In Kota division (Rajasthan), the Mumbai-Delhi bound trains are running with a speed of 130 km per hour, the official added.

The WCR Zone with three railway divisions, Jabalpur, Bhopal and Kota, is headquartered here.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)