The Indian Railways will fix Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations at all the main Railway Stations in the country in the upcoming three years under the new policy of upholding e-mobility. According to the policy document witnessed by ET, the railway stations in the megacities have a population of four million plus, each taken up in the first phase.

It imagines the connection of EV charging stations at railway stations in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, and Surat by December 2024. This move is aimed significantly at restraining the use of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles by 2025 for the Indian Railways’ internal usage as a part of an endeavour resulting in a net zero carbon emitter by 2030. A two-pronged strategy has been anticipated, focusing on the adoption of EVs and on the production of reasonable and accessible charging infrastructure at railway stations.

All railway stations in Major cities with a million-plus population and in megacities with a four million-plus population will be taken up in the second phase, which will conclude in December 2025.

The residual electrified stations on the Indian Railways network will have EV charging stations connected by December 2026, based on possibility studies by the zonal railways on a case-by-case basis.

The EV charging stations will be set through budgetary funding, with the zonal railway holding the stations. The other option is the developer mode, wherein charge point operators invest in setting up EV charging stations and recompense a license rent to the railways.