大象传媒

When you talk about the railways in India it is hard not to use massive numbers; it has over 7500 stations, over 70,000 kilometres of track, it employs over 1.3 million people and carries a staggering 20 million passengers every day.

The railways are incredibly important to life in India and have connected the country since the first line opened in 1863. But now, nearly 160 years later, the Indian rail network is about to take the next step in its existence - going electric. In 2017, national rail body Indian Railways announced that 100% of India's rail network would be electrified by the end of 2023 and then achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

With just over a year to go, Bhakti Jain speaks to academics, experts and passengers about the process of electrification and hears how its completion will impact on the economy, transport, the environment and India's consumption of fossil fuels.

Producer: Kurt Brookes
Executive producer: Ashley Byrne
A Made in Manchester production for 大象传媒 World Service

(Photo: Workers are seen during an electric train run at Baramulla Railway Station, Jammu and Kashmir. Shailesh Pathak, CRS Railway, inspects the electric train on 26 March 2022. Credit: Nasir Kachroo/Nur photo/Getty Images)