MADURAI: June 5th is World Environment Day. The Indian Railways (IR) is focusing on environment-friendly measures like the use of renewable energy which includes wind and solar energy. IR has installed about 114 MW of solar rooftop plants in over 1,000 stations and 400 service buildings. IR plans to be a Zero Net Carbon Emitter by 2030.
1. IR plans to set up solar plants on unused vacant Railway land for meeting its traction power requirement. Railway plans to install 20 GW land-based solar plants.
2. To further proliferate these pilot projects, IR has initially planned to set up 3 GWp of land based solar plants in 3 phases.
3. Further, IR also plans to take up a storage-based solar project. This pilot project is taken up to manage peak demand management and solar peak generation management.
4. A pilot project to procure renewable power in round-the-clock mode to the tune of 150 MW is also being planned.
Southern Railway fast tracks renewable energy projects
Southern Railway is committed to fast-tracking its renewable energy projects with a vision to cut down power costs. By way of increasing its capacity of Solar power plants and establishment of windmills, Southern Railway has achieved savings from renewable energy sources to the tune of Rs. 13.25 crores on Traction and Rs 1.77 crores on Non-Traction Energy bills during the year 2020-21.
The total capacity of Solar power plants installed by Southern Railway is 4.85 MWp, a press release received here from the Madurai Division of Southern Railway had informed here today. It said that 3.985 MWp solar plant was installed under PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) mode and 0.865 MW was installed departmentally. Solar power panels have been installed at various locations/railway stations such as Dr. MGR Chennai Central, MMC complex, Katpadi, Tambaram, Mambalam, Guindy and Chengalpattu suburban stations, Divisional Railway Managers’ Offices at Tiruchchirappalli and Madurai, Chief Workshop Manager’s Office at Trichy Golden Rock Workshop, at Level Crossing Gates in Nagercoil-Thiruvananthapuram section, Signal & Telecom Workshop at Podanur, Salem Jn, Namakkal, Tiruppur, to mention a few.
The zone has ambitious plans to increase solar power generation in the coming years. Solar plants on vacant unused railway land will be installed with a capacity of around 67 MWp and capacity of 40 MWp will be installed along the track over Southern Railway through PPA mode. For this purpose, Southern Railway has identified 268 acres of vacant land and 169 acres of land alongside the track.
With focus on harnessing renewable energy through Windmills, Windmill Plants have been erected at Kayathar (near Gangai Kondan / Kadambur Railway stations) in Tuticorin district under Madurai division of Southern Railway. The total capacity of Wind Mill plants in Southern Railway is 10.5 MW erected at a cost of Rs.72 crores.
As a part of “Swachh Bharat Mission”, the Indian Railways has completed installation of Bio Toilets on its entire fleet ensuring ‘zero discharge’ from coaches on track. With this effort, nearly 2,74,000 litres per day of excreta on tracks is being avoided. Additionally, human waste led corrosion of rails and fittings costing Rs. 400 crore per annum is also avoided. 73,078 coaches have been fitted with 2,58,906 Bio Toilets across IR.
Southern Railway became the first zone in Indian Railways to commission the Nation’s first ‘Green Train Corridor’ between Manamadurai – Rameswaram stretch in July 2016 with all the trains running through the section retrofitted with Bio-toilets. Southern Railway has retrofitted 100% of its coaches, i.e., a total of 7024 coaches with bio-toilets. This includes 4536 conventional coaches and 1392 LHB coaches.
Further, IR has planned to supplement the existing Bio Toilet system with Vacuum flushing system toilet (Bio-Vacuum Toilets), which substantially reduces the requirement of water for flushing, while ensuring effective flushing of fecal matter from the pans. Indian Railways have provided Bio Vacuum Toilet in total 1,372 LHB coaches and it has been decided to provide Bio Vacuum Toilets in AC LHB Coaches. Sanctions for 8,500 coaches are also available
Installation Of Automatic Coach Washing Plant (ACWP) to Save Water
This aims to provide infrastructure for major coaching depots for exterior cleaning of trains with substantial reduction in water consumption and saving in man power. Automatic Coach Washing Plants (ACWP) are now being installed at major depots. Exterior cleaning of coaches is done while placing the rake on washing lines (pit lines) through ACWP. ACWPs not only clean the exterior of coaches more effectively and efficiently, they also reduce the direct water requirement by avoiding wastage. These also come with water recycling facilities thereby further reducing water requirements.
The details of ACWP in Indian Railways are hereunder:
| Location Identified | 126 |
| Location installed | 29 |
| No. of Locations for which PO issued by COFMOW | 59 |
| Locations for which work awarded by Railways | 10 |
| Locations under the stage of work before award | 8 |
| Locations for which work has been sanctioned | 12 |
| Locations under process for sanction | 8 |
Further, work is under process to get these plants installed at 69 additional locations in addition to already installed at 29 Locations across IR.
Advantages of ACWP
○ Normal Water consumption without ACWP – 1500 litres per coach
○ Water consumption for cleaning with ACWP – 300 litres per coach only.
■ Recycled water use – 80% (240 litres)
■ Fresh water additional required – 20%( 60 litres)
○ Net water requirement per coach – 60 litres. Net saving in water consumption with ACWP – 96% reduction in water consumption.
○ Estimated annual savings of water- 1.28 Crore Kilolitres
In Southern Railway, sanction has been accorded for setting up Automatic Coaching Washing Plants at Tambaram, Ernakulam, Kochuveli, Nagercoil, Tiruchchirappalli and at EMU Car Sheds at Avadi & Tambaram. They are under various stages of execution.
