Guwahati, January 9 (MExN): The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has introduced electric loco services upto New Jalpaiguri station from January 9 and initially 4 pairs of trains will run on electric traction, an official release from informed today.
“The first long distance train upto New Jalpaiguri with electric locomotive will be the 12343 Sealdah - New Jalpaiguri Darjeeling Mail which will start from Sealdah on January 9,” informed the release issued by NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer, Subhanan Chanda.
However, more trains will run by electric locomotive in near future, it said.
It further noted that at present many long distance diesel engine hauled train from NE region are replaced with electric engine at Katihar and Malda Town stations.
Electric passenger trains are also running in Katihar – Kumedpur – Old Malda – Malda Court section, it added.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety, who works under Ministry of Civil Aviation recently inspected the electrification work in Gunjaria – New Jalpaiguri section (160 kms) to check various parameters to ensure safety. Approximate cost involved for electrification of the portion is about Rs. 165.68 Crs.
The entire portion of track including branch lines in NFR was sanctioned for 100% electrification in budget of 2017-18 and the total cost approximate of the entire electrification work in NFR is Rs. 2,542.62 crs, the release said.
The introduction of electric trains will lead to better connectivity of NFR to rest part of India and also boost for environment as conventional engines uses fossil fuel to produce energy which causes pollution, the NFR release maintained.
The following trains have been planned to run with electric locomotives as of now:
