Will phase out diesel engines in five years: Railway minister

Railways and coal minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the Indian Railways will completely phase out diesel locomotives in the next five years and will switch to electric locomotives with the focus on increasing speed. "We have planned to switch all trains to be electric-driven in the next five years," Goyal said, addressing the National Executive Council members of FICCI."We don't want to burden our passengers and freight customers by raising costs. Through bringing efficiency in the existing system, we can reduce operational costs and provide better services to our users," he said adding that diesel locomotives will be used only as backup.By phasing out diesel locomotives, the Railways will save about Rs 10,500 crore annually, he said."T.....