After completion of Electrification in Uttar Pradesh recently, Indian Railways has achieved another milestone with the completion of electrification of all broad gauge routes in Uttarakhand, as per an official statement on Monday.

"The existing Broad Gauge network of Uttarakhand is 347 Route kilometre, which is 100 percent electrified, the Ministry of Railways said.

This will result in saving on account of reduced line haul cost (about 2.5 times lower), heavier haulage capacity, increased sectional capacity, reduced operating and maintenance cost of electric loco, energy efficient and eco-friendly mode of transportation with reduced dependence on imported crude oil, saving of foreign exchange.

"Indian Railway is working in a mission mode to become the largest Green Railway in the world and is moving towards becoming a “net zero carbon emitter” before 2030. After completion of Electrification in Uttar Pradesh recently, Indian Railways has achieved another milestone. Indian Railways has completed the electrification of Uttarakhand," it said.

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Uttarakhand state’s territory falls in Northern and North Eastern Railway’s jurisdiction. Some of the major railway stations in Uttarakhand are: Dehradun, Haridwar, Roorkee, Rishikesh, Kathgodam, Tanakpur.

Some of them have religious importance and some are tourist attractive places. Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Hemkund Sahib, Mussoorie, Nainital, Jim Carbet and Haridwar are a few to name.

Kathgodam station is an important station with annual passenger footfall of about 7 lacs and this terminating station acts as entry of Kumaun region of Uttrakhand. First train to this station reached on 24 April 1884.

Some of the prestigious trains of Uttarakhand state are: Nanda Devi, Haridwar Express, Mussoorie Express, Utkal Express, Kumaon Express, Doon Express and Shatabdi Express. These trains provide convenient connectivity to various parts of the state and other major cities in India, helping greatly to state in tourism business.

Further, Rishikesh to Karnprayag, a new line work is under construction which will be another landmark achievement of Indian Railways, bringing Char Dham pilgrimage route on Indian Railways’ circuit. This route is sanctioned along with electrification, in sync with Railways’ policy of 100 percent electrified network.

Also Read: Indian Railways completes electrification in 6 zones in Uttar Pradesh

India is on its way to becoming the largest green railway network in the world. Indian Railways aims to become zero carbon emitter by 2030.

Before this, the Indian Railways, last month, fully electrified six zones in Uttar Pradesh: East Coast Railway, North Central Railway, North Eastern Railway, Eastern Railway, West Central Railway and South Eastern Railway. Along with these broad gauge (BG) networks that now run on electric traction, highly utilised network (HUN-5) Jhansi-Muzaffarpur-Katni has also been electrified.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hailed Central Railway for the achievement calling it an "outstanding feat", after it completed 100 percent electrification of the entire broad gauge network, thus shrinking 5,204 lakh tonnes of its carbon footprint and saving Rs 1,670 crore annually.

Responding to a tweet by Central Railway, the prime minister tweeted, "Outstanding feat. Compliments to the entire team." In its tweet, the Central Railway said it achieved a significant milestone with 100 percent electrification of the entire broad gauge network.