Economies of TRACTION DIESEL VS ELECTRIC

• How Competitive are the Diesels ?

• Is there a need for further Electrification

in Indian Railways ?

Railway Electrification is justified on various Grounds

Modernization

Energy Efficiency

Depleting Oil Reserves

Savings in Foreign Exchange

Marginally Capital intensive, but much cheaper

operationally

More Economical

Enables higher speeds and improved throughput

Higher hauling capability

Eco-friendly

How true is the above ?

Electric Traction - 1881

After many decades of satisfactory performance, the steam

engines were to give way to more modern locomotives.

The year 1881 saw the birth of the first electric Railway run

by a German Engineer Werner Van Siemens using both

the rails to carry the current. Finding this a little too

dangerous, Siemens soon adopted the overhead electric

wires. Electric locomotives today raun on Rail roads in

many countries.

Diesel Traction - 1912

The diesel engine was invented in the year 1893, by a

young German Engineer, called Rudolf Diesel. But it was

only nineteen years later, that the first Diesel locomotive

came into existence.

Since then, diesel traction has grown from strength to

strength. Over 89,000 Diesel locomotives have been

built in the world so far, the General Motors, USA alone

contributing to as many as 56,000 Locomotives.

Superior Technology - Diesel or Electric ?

Diesel Traction is thus a far more recent technology, as

compared to Electric traction. One reason why there are

more diesels in the world than electric locos and why

more and more are produced year after year.

Railways in Europe and some other advanced countries

had started Electrification many years before the modern

Diesels came on the scene.

In fact, Railways in modern economies like US, Australia,

etc. are de-electrifying including Suburban services.

Superior Technology - Diesel or Electric ? - (ii)

Diesel locomotive is in fact an Electric Locomotive

carrying its own powerhouse. Today’s modern Diesel

locomotives with 6 KMs of Electrical wiring is much more

Electric than an Electric locomotive with 4 KMs of wire.

Electric locomotive provides an easy means of drawing

larger units of power from the OHE for the same axle

load.

Development of Technology for Low weight energy

efficient engine and its controls delayed the advent of

modern diesel locomotives.

Superior Technology - Diesel or Electric ? - (iii)

Today, technological development in both tractions has

levelled of.

And for the same weight, Diesel traction has 10% or higher

load hauling capability.

It is conceded that technology of high speed Passenger

operation beyond 220 Kmph has advanced on Electric

traction, but this is perhaps quite irrelevant to us today.

Diesel locos with Electric transmission have all the benefits

of modern technology such as AC-AC transmission.

World Railways - Status of Electrification

Railway PercentageElectrified

U.S.A. 0.9%

Canada 0.1%

Australia 9.6%

China 15.6%

France 44%

India (BG) 44%

Italy 59%

Sweden 59%

Austria 59%

Amtrack (USA) 100%

Source : Rail Business Report, 1999

Electrification on IR

It is often said that

Electrification on IR is hardly 24.5% of total network.

The truth is Total Network includes BG, MG as well as NG and is

62759 KMs.

Actual BG Route Kilometers are 44383

BG Running Track KMs are 62441

Electrified Running Track KMs - 27946

which is 44.8% of BG Running Track KMs.

World’s Stock of Mainline Locomotives

86000 Diesel Locomotives

Europea

n Union

(13%)

Rest of

the

World

(42%)

India

(5%)

China

(10%)

North

America

(26%)

Latin

America

(4%)

27000 Electric Locomotives

Europea

n Union

(32%)

Rest of

the

world

(47%)

India

(10%)China

(`10%)

North

America

(0%)

Latin

Americ

a (1%)

Population of Diesel Locos in the World is 3.2 times that of the

Electric locomotives (Source: World Bank Railway Database 2000)

Electrification on IR (ii) Railway Electrification on the IR was taken up in a big

way in the late 70s, as a knee jerk reaction to the

1974 oil crisis.

Central Organisation for Railway Electrification

(CORE) was created to speedily electrify the high

density routes; this task has already been completed

in the early 90s. While talking of 1980 Secretary’s

report, we have blanked off Gujral Committee

Recommendations and the falling crude prices in later

years.

It is felt that Electrification of Low density non-viable

and uneconomic routes continues unabated, perhaps

to sustain the organisation.

Time has perhaps come, to pause and examine if the

need for further electrification still persists.

Energy Efficiency Sometimes Electric traction is perceived as more

energy efficient, by wrongly computing the efficiency

from the Overhead wire, in stead of from the Primary

Source of Energy, viz., Coal / Oil (used in producing

electricity in power houses)

The energy efficiency of Traction should however be

calculated right from the Primary source of Power,

taking into account, losses occurring at every stage.

(For example, in production of Electricity in Power

houses and Transmission and Distribution)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY (ii)

ELECTRIC LOCO DIESEL LOCO

Source : The Economics of Railway Traction by

Dr. J. Majumdar (Mcgraw Hill & Co.)

Overall Efficiency 1. Fuel

2. Theoretical efficiency of Diesel Cycle (for a volumetric compression

ratio of 1:16)

3. Boiler efficiency (in electric operation: efficiency of steam power

plant)

4. Indicated efficiency

5. Mechanical efficiency of diesel engine (auxiliaries included)

6. Efficiency of power transmission to axles

7. Theoretical efficiency of cycle in electric operation

8. Indicated efficiency and mechanical and electrical efficiency of the

entire turbo-a.c. converter (auxiliaries included)

9. Efficiency of power transmission from power plant to substation

10. Efficiency of converter and of power transmission from substation

input to current collector, return current losses included

11.Electro-mechanical efficiency of locomotive at the driving wheels,

allowing for feed-water heating to 100 deg. C by exhaust stem.

Energy Efficiency (iii)

Mode of Traction Energy consumedper 1000 GTKM(AUTHORITY:

ASS 1999-2000)

Energyconsumed in

KCAL

RelativeEnergyIndex

Pass – Diesel 4.82 42252 1.0

Pass – Electric 20.6 66892 1.58

Goods – Diesel 2.96 25948 1.0

Goods – Electric 8.28 26887 1.04

1 kg of HSD used in Diesel Traction = 10500 KCAL1 KWH of Electricity requires = 2952 KCAL

ALL India Average Heat Rate in KCAL / KWH

The table proves that Electric traction as energy

efficient is a myth

AUTHORITY : CEA Figures

Availability of Oil (Reserves)

Ever since Col. Blake discovered oil in 1857, this is the usual

pessimistic refrain that we hear.

Arthur Anderson/Cambridge Energy Research Associates

reports:

In 1970, the reserves were estimated to last 33.78 years

In 1980, the estimate was 33 years despite increase in

consumption by 30%

In 1999, oil reserves were estimate to last 43 years despite

increase in consumption by 43%

Will there be any Oil after 30 years ? ? ?

Oil in India India is the least explored region for oil

Well density

per 100 Sq. Km

India 20

World 100

In 1998, prognosticated hydrocarbon reserves in India

were as high as 17 Billion tonnes that can last for 400

years at the consumption rate of 46 Million tonnes per

year during that year.

India consumes 2% of World’s oil, while Indian Railway

uses only 1.7% of India ‘s Oil. (Source : TERI Year

Books)

Share of Railways in the consumption

Others(7%)

Power (4%)

Road

Transport

(49.7%)

Fertilisers

(9%)

Industry

(19.6%)

Railways

(1.7%)

Plantation/

Food (2%)

Domestic

(7%)

Availability of Oil

The Government is investing Rs.54 400

Crores in connecting the Golden

Quadrilateral and diagonals by Super

Highways.

Almost every Automobile / Light Motor

Vehicle Manufacturer continues to

expand their production capacities.

Fuel Cells

A simple device uses Hydrogen from fuel

combines with Oxygen and produces electricity.

No noise, no smoke and no moving parts

As per International Railway Journal of March

2000, Fuel Cell Trains shall be a reality by 2008.

A breakthrough has already been achieved by

BHEL, Hydrabad

All Overhead wires will then become redundant !!!

Diesel locos can be easily converted by replacing

engine with fuel cell.

Bio - Diesels

Renewable fuels from bio sources

include

Ethanol

Bio diesel

Bio hydrogen

Biogases

As given by Dr.D.K.TULI, Chief Research Manager - IOC

on 21-08-2002

Why Bio diesel is important for Railways ?

Indian Rail has very large available

land

Bio diesel will help Railways to :

Improve upon emission norms

eventually reduce diesel cost

redeploy surplus manpower

contribute to environment protection

Importance of Bio diesel Environment friendly

Clean burning

Renewable fuel

No engine modification

Increase in engine life

Biodegradable and non-toxic

Easy to handle and store

Bio diesel process at IOC (R & D)

Base Catalyzed transesterification of oil

Raw Materials Used

Rice Bran Oil

Sun flower oil

Mohuva Oil

Rapeseed oil

Japtropha oil

Karanjia Oil

Scale : 100 g to 60 Kg batch

IOC R & D BIODIESEL PILOT PLANT

The Indian Scene Annual Growth rate -8% compared to world average of

2%

Oil pool deficit & subsidies Rs.16,000 Crores, Rs.18,440

Crores (1996-97)

Current per capital usage of petroleum is abysmally low

(0.1 ton / year) against 4.0 in Germany or 1.5 tons in

Malaysia

Even Malaysia’s figure would be beyond our paying

capacity

Our domestic production would meet only 33% of

demand at the end of 10th plan and only 27% by 2010-

11

Investment in Biofuels make strong Economic

sense.

Jatropha may be the Answer According to the Economic Survey (1995-96), Govt. of India, of

the cultivable land area about 100-150 million hectares are

classified as waste or degraded land

Jatropha (Jatropha curcas, Ratanjyot, wild castor) thrives on any

type of soil

Needs minimal inputs or management

Has no insect, pests & not browsed by cattle or sheep

Can survive long periods of drought

Propagation is easy

Yield from the 3rd year onwards and continues for 25-30

years

25% oil from seeds by expelling 30% by solvent extraction

The meal after extraction an excellent organic manure (38%

protein, N:P:K ration 2.7:1.2:1)

Photograph of Jatropha plant with seeds

EU Initiatives on Biofuels Regulatory package COM-2001 / 547 containing

action plan and directives

20% alternate fuels for gasoline and diesel by 2020

Major options biofuels, natural gas and biohydrogen

Biofuels minimum 5.75% in 2010

Member states can give tax benefits

Bio fuels to include Bio diesel, Bio ethanol, ETBE,

Biogas.

Objectives :

Reduce dependency on imported oil

Greenhouse gas reduction (8% Kyoto)

Support agricultural sector

Bio diesel Potential - Indian Railways An estimate

Track length of 1,00,000 km

If 50% tract available and 50 meters of both sides

Approx. area 5000 sq..km

considering an yield of 2 tons / ha

Yield of oil crop 1 MMTPA

Approx. Bio diesel potential 200-250,000 tones i.e.

about 10% of the Railways’ diesel requirements

Indian Oil as Partner in technology development

The Railway Minister said that Railway Ministry and Indian Oil

Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding for a pilot

project for production of eco-friendly biodiesel for the Railways.

Courtesy : The Hindu dt. 13th Feb.2003

Electric Traction -What it costs the Nation ?

All figures are in MUs (millions of units)

Total Demand of the Country 507216

Actual availability 467400

Shortfall 26349

Consumption of Railways in2000-01

7308

Avoidable Shortage inflicted bythe Railways

27.7%

Source : Central Electrical Authority(Figures for 2000-01)

Electric Traction -What it costs the Nation ? (ii)

Total Shortfall in Peak LoadCapacity *

10457 MW

Requirement of Railways ** 5500 MWAvoidable Capacity constraintscaused by the Railways

54.1%

* Source : Central Electrical Authority(Figures for 2000-01)

** Requirement as computed for 2800 Electric locos,assuming Loco Availability (85%), Load factor

(60%) and T & D Losses (22%) etc.

Every Diesel Loco of 4000 HP put on line

adds to the Power Generation Capacity of the

country by 3 MW

Every Electric Loco of 6000 HP put on line

Eats into the Power generation capacity by

about 4 to 5 MW *

Deprives 15000 Houses of Electric Power

Adds to use of inefficient small DG sets by

Industrial, Agricultural & Domestic sectors

* Taking into account the Locomotive, Transmission

and Distribution Losses.

Electrify the Railways and Dieselise the Industry ??

In a country where 14.7% villages are yet to

be electrified, can we afford to electrify

Railways ?

The Energy Policy should ideally aim at

replacing inefficient use of Fuel

Electrification replaces a highly efficient

Turbo charged Railway Diesel locomotive

with small sized high inefficient gen-sets

resulting in higher consumption of HSD and

pollution.

Anticipated Drains from the Power production in future years, even with no

further Electrification.

Year Electric Energyrequired by IR(Million Units)

2001-02 7713

2006-07 9844

2011-12 12564

Assuming a 5% Growth / annum in Freight andPassenger Traffic over the 10th and 11

th Plans and

with same share of Traffic between Diesel and Electric

Further Drain into the scarce Capital Resources

At the endof Plan

AdditionalGenerationCapacityrequired by IR(MW)

Capital Costrequired forLocos / PowerPlant / T & DNetwork

X 1520 Rs.12760 Cr.

XI 1939 Rs.16112 Cr.X

Assuming a 5% growth / annum in Freight andPassenger Traffic over 10h and 11

th Plans

Optimum Utilisation of Energy - Petroleum

There is a lot of reluctance in the States for

establishing any new coal-based Power Plants

in view of the serious limitations like poor quality

of coal with high ash and sulphur content,

pollution of ash and dust, high cost of

developing new coal fields, extreme shortage of

water, etc,.

Most of the Power houses set up in the country

in the last five years and those in the pipe line

are based on Petroleum products such as LNG,

Diesel, Naptha, etc.

Does Electrification save Foreign Exchange ?

Electrification ends up draining the

Foreign exchange, instead of saving it.

The classic case is Ernakulam -

Trivandrum Electrification at Minus 29%

rate of return, tapping Power from a

Diesel Power station of Nallalam.

Capital investment in Power plants is

mostly by way of imported equipment.

To Sum up, It is quite obvious that

Electrification of Railways

is leading to:

Dieselisation of the Industry,

Agriculture and Domestic Sector

Increased Fossil Fuel Consumption

and not Reduction

Higher Outflow of Foreign Exchange

and not savings for the Nation

Is Electric Traction only

Marginally Capital intensive ?

Is Electric Traction only marginally Capital intensive ?

The Nation pays

dearly by spending our

scarce Capital to

create this vast

infrastructure and to

sustain it.

On the Diesel traction,

a modest engine is all

that we require.

Power Requirement of a 5000 HP Electric Locomotive

Equivalent MW Capacity 3.75 MW(Let us assume that Plantand Loco Load factorscancel each other)Transmission Losses 10%

(National Average22%)

Generation Capacityrequired

3.75 / 0.9= 4.2 MW

Current Cost of PowerHouse / MW

Rs.4.25 Cr. **

Cost of Distribution Network /MW

Rs.4 Cr.

Cost / MW of Power at theLoco

Rs.8.25 Cr.

Capital to be invested / loco 4.2 x 8.25= Rs.34.65 Cr.

Source : Data as published by CEA

Electric Traction is prohibitively Capital intensive

(Rs. In Crores)

Diesel Electric

Loco Cost 3.66 3.79

Cost of OHE per Loco - 3.25

Cost of Power House per Loco(refinery irrelevant)

- 17.85

Cost of transmission /distribution system per loco

16.80

Total Capital Cost 3.66 41.69

Based on prices for the year 1999-20005 km of OHE per locomotive and Rs.65 lakhs /km

Break-even Level as Assessed by various Committees

Committee Year Break-evenLevel (GMT *)

SAHAI 1963 6.06 – 6.91NCAER 1970 13 – 18RAJ 1978 29.6 – 37.5

Railway BoardDirectors

1984 31 – 46

Railway Board – Eds 1989 34.9Railway Board – Eds 1996 49.72

* Gross Million Tonnes per Route KM / Annum

Today, we are executing projects of Sectionswith 0 – 15 GMT !!

Sections under Electrification recently

Traffic densities on Sections under Electrificationare far less than 49.7 GMT (Break-even level)

Lucknow – Kanpur 14 GMTKharagpur – Bhubaneshvar 26 GMTLudhiana – Amritsar 29 GMTAmbala – Saharanpur 27 GMT

GMT of Non-electrified sections on All India basis

GMT % of RKM

> 49.72 Nil

40.0 – 49.72 1.6%

30.0 – 40.0 6.7%

20.0 – 30.0 11.1%

10.0 – 20.0 31.8%

5.0 – 10.0 24.0 %

< 5.0 24.8%Justification for any more

electrification thus does notappear to exist.

Breakeven was given a Go By since no

sections on IR in 1996 qualified for

Electrification on 49 GMT basis and the

CORE was facing a closure.

If ROR should only be the criterion, can

we de-electrify the low density routes

already electrified ?

If Oil prices come down, as it did from

$36 in 1979 to $9 in 1998, can we

attempt de-electrification of the entire

country based on ROR ?

Recommendations of Gujral Committee - 1990

For the period 1990-2005, Electrification of 2510

KMs recommended.

Electrification recommended @ 214 Kms per year

Sections specifically recommended for Not

Electrifying already electrified.

Actual Electrification done between 1990 and

2000 has been 5000 KMs which is double of what

was recommended.

Rate of Electrification is 2.33 times of what was

recommended.

Line Haul Costs The Operational Line Haul Costs for Diesel

and Electric Traction are expressed in terms

of the Line Haul Costs per 1000 GTKMs of

Traffic carried. It has the following

components.

-Costs of Fuel, Stores, etc.

-Repair, Maintenance and Operating Expenses.

-Depreciation

-Interest

Anomalies in Line Haul Costs OHE Financing through Budgetary support

(Applicable 7% Dividend)

Capital-at-charge (Rs.4359 Crore *) of Electrification retained

with CORE.

Capital-at-charge of Zonal Railway kept low

(Example-WR/43 Crore, SR/69.9 Crore since 1987, CR/120).

Interest of full Capital-at-charge Rs.15 per 1000 GTKM

ROR worked out for 36 years, slightly less than the OHE Codal

life of 40 years to avoid Replacement costs getting reflected.

IRFC Lease Hire Charge apportion to Diesel locos only

(Example-ER)

IRFC Lease Hire charge distributed in proportion of loco holding

to the disadvantage of diesel traction where shunting locos also

get included.

* Source : 2001-02 (BE) Figure as per Budget Documents

Explanatory Memorandum 2001-02

Line Haul Costs

Proof of the Pudding is in the Eating !!

Diesel Line Haul Cost on

Non-electrified Railways (NE & NF) are

significantly lower than that of

Electrified Railways

NE 46.48 65% Lower than IR Ave.

NF 62.10 24% Lower than IR Ave.

Line Haul Costs

In any case,

the Average Line Haul Cost

derived from the High Density

Electrified Routes cannot obviously

be Extrapolated to justify the

Electrification of Low Density

Routes.

Procedure for sanction of Electrification Projects

Each Electrification Project will be justified on ROR

which should exceed 14% with the DCF Method.

In certain specific cases, Electrification will be

justified on considerations of Operational flexibility

Electrification of a single line section (Main Line)

will normally not be considered.

The ONLY Recommendation followed is

to Do Away with Breakeven,

due to obvious reasons.

World Bank Appraisal Only Independent Appraisal of Two sections

done in 1995

JHS-ET Ballarshah-Vijayawada

Projected ROR 23.4% 40.5%Actual ROR 9% 2%

Wrong Assumptions:

Assumed ActualSpeed of Goods trainsin kmph

Diesel 24 28

Electric 36 29Maintenance cost inRs. Per 1000 GTKM

Diesel 3.3 7.69

Electric 2.2 7.54Energy Cost (Rs.) Diesel 2.8 / lit 5.9 / lit

Electric 0.4 / kwh 2.5 / kwh

CAG Report No.9 of 2000

on FUEL MANAGEMENT

DELHI - AMBALA - ROR

Projected : 14.5%

Actual : (-) 10.25%

BINA - KATNI

Full Diesel Operation Cost : 68.9 Crore

Full Electric Operation Cost : 110.79 Crore

Rate of Return (-) ve

CAG Report 2000 For the Period 1994-95 to 1998-99

Total Working Expenses Rs.87,057 Cr.Fuel alone Rs.21,772.9 Cr.Steam Rs.149.31 Cr.Diesel Rs.8,590.38 Cr.

(39.45%)Electric Rs.13,033.21 Cr.

(59.85%)

Whereas,Share of GTKM – Diesel 46.17%

Electric 53.64%

Railways have made no provision for energy meters in

locomotives either to monitor the electric energy

consumption or to work out the electricity consumed for

electric traction of different classes of traffic.

The apportionment of electricity consumed between

goods and passenger services is being done on an

estimated standard specific energy consumption (SEC)

for passenger services.

The SEC adopted was obviously erroneous.

Sometimes, the adopted SEC for passenger traffic

resulted in negative consumption for goods traffic.

The figures, therefore, have no realistic basis.

Electrification of the main routes picked up momentum in

1970s. By March 1999, 14,050 route kilometres were

electrified at the cost of Rs.4,008.55 crores.

It is imperative that a review is undertaken now for choice of

traction with reference to the operational results of the

electrification already done.

Review by Audit of 2 electrified sections and a project

completion report prepared by the World Bank in 1994 tend to

indicate that the projected returns were significantly

overstated and could not be achieved.

Besides, the expected economy in cost of operation has not

fructified having regard to the trend of international oil prices

vis-à-vis the sharp rise in domestic electricity costs.

Further in Indian conditions, uninterrupted electricity supply

to Railways inevitably affects industry adversely.

(Para 7)

Diesel (Litres) Electricity (KWH)

Sl.No.

PeriodPassengerandproportionof mixed

Goodsandproportionof mixed

Passengerandproportion ofmixed

Goodsandproportionof mixed

1 2 3 4 5 6

1. 1994-95 5.33 3.33 20.26 8.88

2. 1995-96 5.30 3.20 19.98 8.88

3. 1996-97 5.15 3.15 19.89 9.02

4. 1997-98 5.39 3.12 19.82 8.85

5. 1998-99 5.27 3.12 19.75 8.51

Average forthe period

5.29 3.18 19.93 8.82

(v) Consumption of diesel/ electricity per

1000 GTKMs (BG)

Opportunity Cost of Investments in Electrification

Electrified Route 15,398 KMs

Current Cost 10,000 Crores

Interest Cost @ 16% 1,601 Crores The interest cost alone can finance CIF value of the

Total HSD consumed by IR

The Capital Investment in Electrification can buy 2734

Diesel locos almost the same number that we have

today

*@ Average Current Price Rs.63 Lakhs per KM

Load Haulability Conventional Locomotives

4000 HPWAG5

3100 HPWDG2

Adhesion 0.31 0.36Starting TE 38t 40.5t1 in 100 2200 t 2750 t1 in 50 3150 t 3705 t

Load Haulability Modern Diesel Vs Electic

6000 HPWAG9

4000 HPWDG4

Adhesion 0.37 0.42Starting TE 47t 53t1 in 100 3205 t 3655 t1 in 50 4250 t 4840 t

Average Freight Train Speeds - BG

Year Diesel Electric

1960-61 22.2 19.51970-71 22.9 25.2

1980-81 21.3 22.81990-91 22.6 23.1

1995-96 22.5 23.8

1996-97 22.5 24.1

1997-98 22.7 24.7

1998-99 22.2 24.9

1999-00 22.6 24.8

Diesel Electric

1) Train KMs Goods 5,724,512 78,57,3872) Train Engine Hours

(Goods)2,25,816 3,27,027

3) Wagon KMs 47,50,76,841 76,94,37,3264) Net Tonne KM

(Goods)5,49,78,59,400 9,87,04,92,200

5) GTKM (Goods) 10,78,62,15,100 17,98,57,43,6006) GTKM (Goods)

including eng. Wt.11,93,18,50,700 19,28,83,12,100

7) GTKM (Rev.) 10,58,36,82,538 17,66,97,08,4758) NTKM (Rev.) 5,42,15,54,336 9,74,03,57,5059) GTKM including wt.

Of eng. XAvg. speed (Diesel)

3,02,47,64,52,131 4,63,43,49,23,558

10) (9) ÷ (6)(Line 42 of theReport)

25.35 24.02

Courtesy : Traffic Accounts – Goods Analysis 2001-02 (BG)

Study by LRDSS Conclusions

HP to Load Ratio of 1.5 - Most beneficial & Cost

effective. This, of course, pertains to sections near

saturation. On Passenger dominant sections, HP to

Load Ratio >2 for Diesel also. Further overpowering not

recommended. - Benefit insignificant.

On Single Line sections, gain under Electric traction is

low. (Tract & Other reasons limit the speed

improvement). HP to train load ratio is not a traction

specific issue.

Positive impact of Electric traction on Freight dominant

double line sections where HP to trailing Load ratio is

low. - 12 - 16% higher line capacity

This recommendation of course is not traction specific

but only HP specific.

Environment Issues

Contrary to popular perception, Electric

traction is more polluting than Diesel

traction.

Power for Electric Loco comes from

either Diesel based Power station with

same level of pollution as Diesel loco

Or from Coal based Thermal station whose

“Green House” gases emission is 26% more

than Diesel loco (UNDP Study)

Electric Loco- Environment friendly - Is that really so ??

One Electric Loco of 5000 HP requires 4.2 MW of

Power.

One MW of Power requires 10 Tonnes of Coal per

day

And at 40% Ash content, generates 4 Tonnes of

Coal Ash per day.

Source: Central Electricity Authority Annual Report

1998-99

= 16 Tonnes of coal Ash per day

Break Up Price of HSD

Product Price

Adj

9%

Cess

7%

Marketing

Margin

1%

Custom duty

10%

Others

9%

Excise Duty

13%

CIF Cost

51%

Price of HSD Oil

Basic Price * Rs.14.54 per Litre

(including Excise)

Inclusive of Sales Tax & Freight the price

ranges between Rs.15.12 to Rs.17.69

Average Issue Price Rs.16.25 per Litre

* Authority : Board’s rate contract dt.12.1.2001

Is Electricity overpriced ?

Railway Traction needs immune power,

with no cuts, warranting duplication of

Transmission and Distribution systems,

which obviously comes at a Premium.

Unlike HSD, Electricity is subsidised by waiving off Sales

Tax and Excise, though it is an Economic Good

manufactured and sold.

Cost of Fuel & Electric Energy (Rs. Per 1000 GTKM)

Year Pass. Goods

Diesel Elect. Diesel Elect.

94-95 39.30 55.95 23.99 23.48

95-96 38.52 63.45 23.69 28.58

96-97 41.40 74.98 25.51 32.47

97-98 52.02 81.78 30.76 34.54

98-99 52.38 86.31 30.10 34.06

99-00 57.31 90.43 35.19 36.35

Increaseover 94-95

46% 62% 47% 55%

Source: ASS Published by Ministry of Railways(1994-95 to 1999-2000)

Conclusions Electric Vs Diesel debate is not an issue of Departmental

dominance but Economic survival.

Electrification of High Density Traffic Route (49.72 GMT

and above) is not being questioned.

There is no pressing need for electrifying remaining

sections when Railways are facing Financial Disaster.

A complete moratorium on Electrification should be place,

as an immediate measure.

CORE should be wound up.

Work of ongoing projects should be executed only by the

concerned Railway as is the case with projects of BG

conversion, doubling of lines and other Engg. / S&T / Elect.

Works, which also overlap on Multiple Railways.