Guwahati, Oct 23 (IANS) The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), which operates in the northeastern states and in seven districts of West Bengal and five districts of north Bihar, has achieved 64 per cent electrification of its network, officials said on Tuesday.

NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said that so far the NF Railway has achieved electrification of 2708.52 RKM (Route Kilometres) which is 64 per cent of the total 4260.52 RKM of the network.

He said that as part of its target of achieving net zero carbon emission and achieving 100 per cent electrification, Northeast Frontier Railway is speeding up all the electrification works of un-electrified Broad Gauge routes under its jurisdiction.

In the eight northeastern states, 1524.71 RKM have been electrified so far.

Out of the total electrified routes in northeastern region, 1353.231 RKM in Assam, 2.81 RKM in Manipur, 9.58 RKM in Meghalaya, 6.00 RKM in Nagaland and 151.59 RKM in Tripura have already been electrified, the CPRO said.

Moreover, 318.869 RKM in Bihar and 864.94 RKM in West Bengal have already been electrified and come under the jurisdiction of the NF Railway, Sharma said.

The official said that the Indian Railways in its mission mode is moving ahead towards becoming the largest “Green Railways” in the world.

Electrification works are being executed in a phased manner by Indian Railway Construction International Limited (IRCON), Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) and NFR/Construction In different sections over the zone, he said.

The CPRO said that electrification would significantly improve the mobility of trains on NFR and strengthen the Rail network in northeastern states and would provide an eco-friendly, faster, and energy-efficient mode of transportation.

In addition to the reduction in pollution, dependence on imported crude oil would also be reduced, thereby saving precious foreign currency, Sharma said adding that this would also facilitate seamless traffic and also increase the average speed of trains resulting in punctuality of train movement eliminating detention on account of traction change.