Central Organisation for Railway Electrification

Central Organisation for Railway Electrification

Company type	Subsidiary of Indian Railways
Industry	Railways, electrification
Founded	1979 [1]
Headquarters	Prayagraj , India
Area served	India
Key people	Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railway Minister) Vinay Kumar Tirupati(Board Chairman)
Products	Railway electrification
Owner	Indian Railways
Website	core.indianrailways.gov.in

The Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE) is the unit of Indian Railways responsible for electrification of the network. The organisation, founded in 1979, ^[1] is headquartered in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Project units operate in Ambala, Bangalore, Chennai, Secunderabad, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Danapur, and New Jalpaiguri.

CORE headquarters has Electrical, Signal and Telecommunications (S&T), Civil Engineering, Stores, Personnel, Vigilance and Finance departments headed by Chief Project Directors.

Indian Railways had electrified 64,421 route kilometres (rkm) which is 96.99% of the total broad gauge network of Indian Railways (66,413 rkm, including Konkan Railway) by 1 October 2024. ^[2] Indian Railway aimed to electrify all of its broad gauge network by March 2024^{[ needs update ]}. 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 Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai to Panvel and Thane to Vashi, were upgraded to 25 kV AC in April 2016. ^[3]

3000 V DC

The electrification of the Howrah-Burdwan section of the Eastern Railway zone 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. ^[4]

25 kV AC

25 kV AC railway electrification 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 as 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 their spare parts.^{[ citation needed ]}

The first section electrified with the 25 kV AC system was Raj Kharswan–Dongoaposi, on the South Eastern Railway zone, and the first electric train ran on 15 December 1959. The first 25 kV AC EMUs, for Kolkata suburban service, was introduced in September 1962.^{[ citation needed ]}

Organisation

The electrification office was established in Kolkata as the Project Office for Railway Electrification (PORE) in 1951 when electrification of the Howrah–Burdwan section of the Eastern Railway began. A general manager headed the Railway Electrification Organisation, established in Kolkata in 1959. In 1961, the Northern Railway zone electrification office (headed by an engineer-in-chief) was established in Allahabad for the electrification of the Mughalsarai–New Delhi section. Following the 1978 J. Raj Committee report, several electrification projects were included and a railway-electrification headquarters was established. Since most of the electrification projects were in Central India 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.^{[ citation needed ]}

Electrification progress

Trend of Railway Electrification Commissioning in India [2] [5]
Period	Newly electrified (rkm)		Cumulative (rkm)
	whole period	annualised
1925–1947	388	18	388
1947–1951	0	0	388
1951–1956	141	28	529
1956–1961	216	43	745
1961–1966	1,678	336	2,423
1966–1969	814	271	3,237
1969–1974	953	191	4,190
1974–1978	533	133	4,723
1978–1980	195	65	4,918
1980–1985	1,522	304	6,440
1985–1990	2,812	562	9,252
1990–1992	1,557	519	10,809
1992–1997	2,708	542	13,517
1997–2002	2,484	621	16,001
2002–2007	1,810	362	17,811
2007–2008	502 −168	334	18,145
2008–2009	797	797	18,942
2009–2010	1,117	1,117	20,059
2010–2014	741	185	21,801
2014–2015	1,176	1,176	22,997
2015–2016	1,502	1,502	24,479
2016–2017	1,646	1,646	26,125
2017–2018	4,087	4,087	30,212
2018–2019	5,276	5,276	35,488
2019–2020	4,378	4,378	39,866
2020–2021	6,015	6,015	45,881
2021–2022	6,366	6,366	52,247
2022–2023	6,565	6,565	58,812
2023–2024	4,644	4,644	63,456

Status

Electrified network by state (broad gauge only) as of 1 December 2024 [2]
State	Total route km	Electrified route km	% Electrification (BG to BG)
Andhra Pradesh	3,841	3,841	100.00
Arunachal Pradesh	12	0	0.00
Assam	2,533	1,431	56.49
Bihar	3,812	3,812	100.00
Chandigarh	16	16	100.00
Chhattisgarh	1,279	1,279	100.00
Delhi	183	183	100.00
Goa	186	164	88.17
Gujarat	4,087	3,933	96.23
Haryana	1,780	1,780	100.00
Himachal Pradesh	67	67	100.00
Jammu & Kashmir	396	396	100.00
Jharkhand	2,577	2,577	100.00
Karnataka	3,615	3,488	96.49
Kerala	1,046	1,046	100.00
Madhya Pradesh	4,944	4,944	100.00
Maharashtra	5,815	5,815	100.00
Manipur	13	0	0.00
Meghalaya	9	9	100.00
Mizoram	2	0	0.00
Nagaland	11	11	100.00
Odisha	2,918	2,918	100.00
Puducherry	21	21	100.00
Punjab	2,288	2,288	100.00
Rajasthan	5,961	5,805	97.38
Sikkim	0	0	N/A
Tamil Nadu	3,898	3,659	93.87
Telangana	1,923	1,923	100.00
Tripura	267	153	57.30
Uttar Pradesh	8,546	8,546	100.00
Uttarakhand	347	347	100.00
West Bengal	4,024	3,969	98.63
Total (BG)	66,417	64,421	96.99

Electrified network by zone (broad gauge only) as of 1 December 2024 [2]
Zone	Total route km	Electrified route km	% Electrification (BG to BG)
CR	4,002	4,002	100.00
ER	2,809	2,809	100.00
ECR	4,179	4,179	100.00
ECoR	3,017	3,017	100.00
NR	7,272	7,272	100.00
NCR	3,286	3,286	100.00
NER	3,225	3,225	100.00
NFR	4,124	2,826	68.53
NWR	5,550	5,355	96.49
SR	5,040	4,801	95.26
SCR	6,225	6,159	98.94
SER	2,753	2,753	100.00
SECR	2,428	2,428	100.00
SWR	3,340	3,257	97.51
WR	5,268	5,153	97.82
WCR	3,111	3,111	100.00
KRCL	738	738	100.00
Kolkata Metro	50	50	100.00
Total (BG)	66,417	64,421	96.99

Modernisation

See also: Future of rail transport in India

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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 in real-time, enabling control of maximum demand and electrical cost. The system also provides automatic troubleshooting and isolation of faulty sections.^{[ citation needed ]}

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

See also

• Future of rail transport in India
• List of railway electrification systems
• Project Unigauge

References

1. "Home page", Central Organisation for Railway Electrification, Ministry of Railways, Government of India, retrieved 24 May 2021
2. Status of Railway Electrification (as on 01.12.2024) (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. 12 October 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
3. "Central Railway completes DC to AC conversion". Hindustan Times . 11 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
4. "Indian Railways" (PDF). indianrailways.gov.in. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
5. "Railway Electrification". indianrailways.gov.in.

External links

• Official website
• CORE website at the Internet Archive