On World Environment Day, Indian Railways reaffirms its commitment to sustainable development

Indian Express

05-06-2025

Every time you choose to travel by train, you are not just choosing comfort or convenience — you are choosing a cleaner, greener Bharat. More than 700 crore people chose to travel in Indian Railways last year. It's our lifeline, and a green promise for tomorrow.
Indian Railways is helping the country move closer to the Panchamrit goals set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi — net zero by 2070. It is enabling this through a multi-pronged approach: By shifting traffic from road to rail and powering operations with cleaner, greener energy sources. Together, these moves are helping India decarbonise its economy at scale.
In 2013-14, Indian Railways carried about 1,055 million tonnes of cargo. This has increased to 1,617 million tonnes in 2024-25, making our railway the second-largest cargo-carrying railway in the world. Using the computations done by experts, this shift of cargo from road to rail has helped our country save over 143 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. That's like planting 121 crore trees.
Transporting goods by rail costs nearly half of what it does by road. This means big savings, not just for businesses, but for the entire economy. This shift has helped save Rs 3.2 lakh crore in logistics costs over
the past decade. Railways are also much cleaner, releasing 90 per cent less carbon dioxide than trucks. That's less smoke in our skies and cleaner air for us. This road-to-rail transition has saved us 2,857 crore litres of diesel, roughly translating to savings of Rs 2 lakh crore in fuel costs.
India imports oil. Therefore, it makes strategic sense to electrify our transportation sector so that our dependence on imports is reduced. In the 60 years before 2014, Indian Railways electrified 21,000 km of track. And in the past 11 years, we have electrified 47,000 km. Today, 99 per cent of our broad-gauge network is electrified.
Indian Railways is increasingly using green energy for stations, factories and workshops. Now, it is working with states to get more green energy for running the trains. This will all lead to India achieving its net zero goal.
Building on this momentum, dedicated freight corridors (DFCs) are electrified, high-capacity railway lines designed exclusively for goods transport. With 2,741 km operational, DFCs have eased congestion on roads and significantly reduced diesel consumption and carbon emissions.
India is also embracing modern, zero-emission technology like the hydrogen-powered train. The first train will run between Jind and Sonipat in Haryana and carry up to 2,600 passengers. It will be the most powerful and longest hydrogen train in the world.
India is proving that economic growth and ecological responsibility can, and must, go hand in hand. According to the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index 2023, India now ranks 38 out of 139 countries, a jump of 16 places since 2014. The expansion of railway electrification has reduced costs and emissions. It has also increased speed and capacity, helping India move closer to world-class logistics standards.
PM Modi set 2030 as the year to achieve net zero for Indian Railways. Due to the accelerated electrification and large-scale shifting of cargo from road to rail, Indian Railways is on track to achieve net zero (scope 1) within 2025.
On this World Environment Day, Indian Railways reaffirms its commitment to sustainable development. Every electrified track, every solar panel placed, and every freight container off the road is a promise — to our people and our planet.
The writer is Minister of Railways, Electronics and Information Technology, and Information and Broadcasting, Government of India