South Central Railway (SCR) has moved 92 trains into electric traction in the past financial year (April 2023 to March 24), savings ₹204 crore a year or about 83 kilolitres of diesel.
During the same time, about 34 trains were put on Head On Generation (HOG), wherein the power is sourced from the overhead electric line for running the train as well as air-conditioning/lighting instead of power unit bogies attached to the passenger coaches. This has also resulted in saving ₹35.76 crore a year.
Another significant effort in reducing carbon emissions has been the installation of 10.5 MWP solar panels across the zone at 300 stations and other installations, which helps cut carbon emission to the tune of around 8,300 tonnes a year, according to senior officials.
The zone has electrified 6,128 route kilometres, which is over 94% of the total broad-gauge network even as around 300 stations with service buildings have been provided with solar plants with a total capacity of 10.5 MWP.
General Manager Arun Kumar Jain said a lot of work is being done for taking measures towards conserving energy, promoting clean energy and several other green initiatives for environment protection.
Last year, 73 lakh saplings were planted across the six divisions and nine water recycling plants installed. Twenty-three waste-to-compost plants were also established and 76 major railway stations have been equipped with plastic bottle crushing units. Fifteen stations got sewage treatment plants. CCTV camera monitoring of the cleanliness activities is available at 58 railway stations. A special clean drive was taken up earlier this month as part of the World Environment Day.
To ensure a hygienic environment in railway properties, all the coaches were fitted with bio-toilets, eliminating the problem of direct discharge from the toilets. Now, bio-vacuum toilets are being fitted in new coaches to reduce the water consumption.
Chief public relations officer Ch. Rakesh said that the environment management plans to mitigate the effects of construction during the redevelopment of several stations, including the Secunderabad station, have been issued.
Thus far, 23 SCR units have obtained green rating certification from the Confederation of Indian Industry – Indian Green Building Council (CII-IGBC), including eight platinum, nine gold and six silver rating, he added.
