Indian Railways to Go Eco-Friendly with Solar Power Implementations

Indian Railways is on a continuous effort to revamp its structure and the way of operations it carries. From the introduction of new trains, special trains, luxury trains, wi-fi connectivity on stations or better food in train, every aspect of the Indian Railways is refurbished. Now, its time to adopt solar power and the Indian Railways has commenced its journey towards a “Go Green” approach which will make sustainable and economical changes.

Railways to go Environment-Friendly!
Since 2010, Indian Railways have adopted many environment friendly policies to serve passengers with best facilities. It’s the time to reduce the energy consumption and minimize the fuel requirement. The Railways decision to experiment with solar power to electrify the trains is economical and the best use of wind and sun to run the train on track. About 50 stations in the country are completely dependent on solar power, while other 300 have solar or wind harnessing systems to conserve energy.

The First Solar Powered Coaches
It was June 2015 when the Indian Railways installed the first solar-powered coaches which ran on the Rewarri-Sitapur, Pathankot-Jogindernagar and Kalka-Shimla lines. The solar panels installed at the roof were used to power the lighting requirements of the train.

Government to Provide Subsidies for Solar Energy System.
In September 2015, the Indian Government announced to provide subsidies to promote and install solar panels over 500 train rooftops.

Adoption of Solar Energy by Stations

• Many stations are harnessing solar power to use the energy for lighting purposes.
• Jaipur is the latest railway station to use solar power and will save Rs 7.2 lakh annually on electricity bills.
• Railway gate signals at Thiruvananthapuram operates via solar energy.
• Ratnagiri, Maharashtra installed a solar plant to feed electricity for the station.
• Jaisalmer installed and inaugurated a 26 MW windmill in December 2015.

Fuel Efficient Railways:
Its anticipated that installing solar panels on 63,511 train coaches will reduce 10.8 crores worth of locomotives.

Water Conversation Initiatives by the Indian Railways:
Towards a successful journey of environment protection, Indian Railways has installed rainwater harvesting projects at nearly 50 stations and will continue to install water recycling plants in future at other stations. In Mumbai, Lokmaniya Tilak Terminus, rainwater harvesting yields up to 40% of the water requirement.

Biggest Rooftop Solar Plant:
The biggest rooftop solar plant was established in Katra station in 2015. This one MW solar power plant was set up as an initiative to cut energy bills and save up to 1 crore annually on energy bills. It is the largest solar power plant built by Indian Railways.

Indian Railways while scaling up with its environment-friendly techniques, is now in the competition to provide the best journey experience. RailMitra, is your only companion during the journey to provide you with the best rail services. Check your PNR Status, seat availability, train time table, train running status and other information before boarding your train.