Chennai, September 10: Southern Railway has achieved 100% electrification of its broad gauge network following the completion of electrification works on the Pattukottai-Karaikudi section in Tamil Nadu.
The railway zone announced the milestone on Thursday, marking the completion of electrification across its broad gauge network.
The Pattukottai-Karaikudi section, which runs for about 73 km via Aranthangi, was among the final stretches awaiting electrification under Southern Railway.
The section forms part of the wider Tiruvarur-Thiruthuraipoondi-Pattukottai-Aranthangi-Karaikudi rail corridor under the Tiruchchirappalli Railway Division.
Southern Railway’s Construction Organisation had taken up electrification of the nearly 150-km corridor at a cost of more than ₹180 crore. The Tiruvarur-Pattukottai portion had already been commissioned for electric traction, leaving Pattukottai-Karaikudi as the final leg of the project.
The Pattukottai-Karaikudi railway section was earlier converted from metre gauge to broad gauge and commissioned for broad gauge traffic in 2018 as part of the Mayiladuturai-Tiruvarur-Tiruturaipundi-Karaikudi gauge conversion project.
Southern Railway had electrified 4,995 route kilometres of its 5,116-route-km network by December 2025, accounting for 97.63% coverage at the time.
The remaining 132 route kilometres then included 120 route kilometres of the Tiruturaipundi-Pattukottai-Karaikudi corridor and 12 route kilometres of the Chinna Salem-Porpadakurichi section.
By July 2026, Southern Railway had reached 98.7% broad gauge electrification, according to data released by the Ministry of Railways.
Indian Railways as a whole had electrified about 99.6% of its broad gauge network by then.
The completion of Southern Railway’s remaining broad gauge electrification works enables greater use of electric traction across the zone and reduces dependence on diesel locomotives. Railway electrification also supports lower fossil-fuel consumption and improved operational efficiency.
