Indian Railways uses nearly 3 billion units of electricity every month for smooth train operations

1 hour ago 7

2 min readJul 24, 2026 05:35 PM IST

Indian Railways consumes around 2,957 million units of electricity every month (Image generated using AI)

Indian Railways electrification: Indian Railways uses nearly 3 billion units ( 2,957 million units) of electricity every month across its 17 zones to power train operations and ensure the smooth running of services nationwide. At present, 99.6% of its Broad Gauge (BG) network has been electrified.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that while many countries focus on electrifying only their busiest passenger and freight routes, India has chosen to electrify its entire Broad Gauge network. He said Indian Railways’ progress in railway electrification is among the most significant achievements globally.

“By network coverage, Indian Railways is now among the most extensively electrified large railway systems in the world. Indian Railways had electrified 99.6% of its broad-gauge network, completing one of the world’s largest infrastructure transformation programs in a decade,” he said.

According to the latest report of International Union of Railways (UIC) of June, 2025, railway electrification in important railway systems is as under:

Railway Electrification: India vs the World

99.6%

India's railway electrification, 2nd highest globally

Railway Electrification by Country

The Union Minister further said that Indian Railways has taken up electrification in mission mode. Work is underway to electrify the remaining sections of the network, and all new railway lines and multi-tracking projects are being approved and built with electrification, he said.

A look at the zone-wise status of railway electrification

Of the 19 railway zones, 15 have achieved 100 per cent electrification. while work is still underway in the remaining four zones. These are: North Western Railway, Northeast Frontier Railway, Southern Railway and South Western Railway.

Zone-wise Status of Railway Electrification

15 of 19

Railway zones fully (100%) electrified

Electrification Status by Zone

Bar scale starts at 94% to highlight differences among near-fully electrified zones

East Central Railway

100%

North Central Railway

100%

North Eastern Railway

100%

South Central Railway

100%

South East Central Railway

100%

South Eastern Railway

100%

West Central Railway

100%

North Western Railway

99.8%

Northeast Frontier Railway

98.7%

South Western Railway

96.1%

Source: Rajya Sabha

Zone-wise electricity consumption and expenditure of Indian Railways in FY 2025-26

South Central Railway recorded the highest average monthly electricity consumption in FY 2025-26 at 317.49 million units. It was followed by Central Railway (273.93 million units), North Central Railway (261.61 million units), East Coast Railway (218.38 million units) and Western Railway (218.17 million units).