By the end of the year, India’s vast rail network—some 40,000 miles long—could be 100 percent electrified. It is more than 96% electrified now. In the US, by contrast, that number is around 1%.
“India has been an amazing example of a rapid transition from a diesel train system to an electric system,” said Yasmine Agelidis, senior attorney at Earthjustice, an environmental nonprofit that advocates for the US to move to zero-emission trains. “It’s a good model for the US to look at because India already has a lot of diesel trains, and the US is in the same boat.”
India’s net-zero goal
Indian Railways, the state-owned company that runs the railway network, has a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by the end of the decade. But the motivation to phase out diesel trains is not only to tackle climate change and reduce the health impacts of pollution. Electric trains are less expensive to operate. Trains can also carry more freight or transport more passenger cars than diesel trains. And this shift reduces the country’s dependence on imported crude oil.
To electrify the track, cables are added to the top that can connect to the electric trains. The progress doesn’t mean that all trains in use are now electric, but that part is moving fast too—as of December 2023, Indian Railways operated more than 10,000 electric trains, out of a total of about 14,500. (In some cases, old diesel locomotives were converted to electric, but most are new; last year’s order for 1,300 new electric locomotives was the largest ever received by Siemens Mobility, its supplier.)
How did India move so fast
More than 12,000 miles of track were electrified in India between 2011 and 2020, and another 12,000 miles were electrified from 2020 to 2023. Support came from above. “The prime minister of India has given a clear order that he wants India to reach 100% electric train,” Agellidis said. “I think the clear direction and purpose of the policy was very important.”
The fact that the railway is owned by the government has helped speed up the process. The government was quick to speed up land permits, access to electricity, and construction, according to Pawan Mulukutla, who heads the transport project at the non-profit organization WRI India. The budget is allocated to improve the existing railway infrastructure instead of expanding the network.
Other countries are also moving faster than the US to adopt electric trains. China’s railway network is 75% electrified; South Korea is at 78%. The EU is 56% electrified. The Swiss railway network underwent a transformation at the beginning of the 20th century and is now almost 100% electrified.
In the US, where most railways are privately owned, there has been little interest in investing in electric infrastructure. “In the long run, electric rail can be cheaper than diesel because it is a cheap fuel source,” said Agellidis. “It’s a big job too. But I think it’s a given [the private railways] model, they are only looking at the short term and what they can give to their shareholders. That’s a real problem, because it means that shareholder profits are being put before public health and our climate goals. “
California’s push to electrify rail
In California, a new zero-emissions rail law is designed to force trains operating in the state to make the change. By 2030, all new trains in the state will have to be zero-emission models; trains older than 23 years will not be operational unless retrofitted. By 2042, 50% of trains in California will have to be zero-emissions, and by 2047, 100%.
That is still much slower than India’s revolution. But it’s a start. The state is waiting for the Environmental Protection Agency to approve the law, because it is part of the waiver that California was allowed to continue to control air pollution when the US passed the Clean Air Act in 1970. If the new law goes forward, other states. with a high level of air pollution can also accept it.
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