Southern Railway completes electrification of entire 5,068 km broad-gauge network

CHENNAI: Southern Railway has completed electrification of its entire 5,068-route-kilometre (RKM) broad-gauge network, with the 71 km Pattukkottai-Karaikkudi section becoming the final stretch to be brought under electric traction.

The statutory inspection of the newly electrified section was completed by Southern Railway Principal Chief Electrical Engineer Ganesh on September 9.

With this, the trains operating across Southern Railway's broad-gauge network will no longer require a change of traction between electrified and non-electrified stretches. This is expected to give the zone greater flexibility in deploying locomotives and improve their utilisation.

The completion of electrification is also expected to reduce dependence on diesel traction and improve energy efficiency. Southern Railway said it would facilitate faster train movement and contribute to more reliable services.

Southern Railway's electrification programme dates back several decades. Electric traction was first introduced in Madras on May 11, 1931, making it the second metropolitan city in India after Bombay to have electric traction. The 25 kV AC system was subsequently commissioned between Madras Beach and Tambaram in 1968.