Indian trains to get 100% electric by 2024, net zero emission by 2030

New Delhi : India has set a deadline of 2024 to make railways network 100% electric, said Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

He also said that the current government is very conscious in regards to the environment and has planned to make the entire Indian Railways network a "net-zero emission network" by 2030.

"We are embarking on rapid electrification of the rail network by 2024. We expect the entire network to be electrified by then," Mr Goyal told reporters at the India-Brazil Business Forum.

"By 2030, we plan to make the entire railway network a net-zero emission network. We will have no emission from the railways.... it will run on clean energy and clean power," he said.

He also notified that India will be the first country with such big size and scale of Railway network running on electricity. Talking more about he mentioned about the scope of partnership with Brazil in making the dream into reality.

Amid global concern on climate change, Indian Railways has been planning since long to cut down carbon emission.

As per the NITI Aayog data, carbon dioxide emission from the Indian Railways was around 6.84 million tons in 2014.

India has the fourth-largest network in the world after the US, Russia and China. Spread across 67,368 km with about 7,300 stations, the rail network runs close to 13,000 passenger trains that carry over 23 million passengers daily, according to government data.