India / Indian Railways' carbon emission will be zero by 2030: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: The Indian Railways has set a target of bringing down carbon emission to zero by the end of the next decade, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said during an online meeting with the bosses of some renewable energy sector firms today.

"By 2030 we will be a net-zero railway, our carbon emission will be zero. Indian Railways transports nearly 8 billion passengers and 1.2 billion tonnes of freight every year. Ours will be the world's first railways of this scale to go green," Mr Goyal tweeted.

By 2030 we will be a net-zero railway, our carbon emission will be zero.

Indian Railways transports nearly 8 billion passengers and 1.2 billion tonnes of freight every year.

Ours will be the world's first Railways of this scale to go green. pic.twitter.com/x08SmseRrP

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) August 26, 2020

India has the fourth-largest rail network in the world after the US, Russia and China with 67,368 km of tracks and with some 7,300 stations, according to government data.

Carbon emission from the Indian Railways was 6.84 million tonnes in 2014, according to a report by the government's think tank NITI Aayog.

"We will have 100 per cent electrified train network by December 2023, the first railway of this scale in the world which will be diesel-free, 100 per cent electric," Mr Goyal said.

He said the centre plans to use the land along the tracks to general 20 gigawatt of clean energy using solar power equipment manufactured in India.

Last year, while announcing the railway electrification goal, Mr Goyal had said the centre would shut down old coal plants.

The average speed of trains will also rise by 10-15 per cent when the railways achieves 100 per cent electrification of its network, a senior Railway Board member had said.

"Electrification will not only increase the speed of trains by 10 to 15 per cent but also line capacity by the same amount," Railway Board (Traction) member Ghanshyam Singh had told news agency PTI.