More Central railway stations will switch to clean energy, after Asangaon

Representative image

The Central Railways (CR) is planning to go green, by making more of its stations operate on 100 percent renewable energy. Matunga, Ambernath, Badlapur, Chembur and Mankhurd are up next, after Asangaon station in Thane became the first environment-friendly station on the central network by working only on solar and wind energy. This would decrease the use of and dependence on fossil fuels for energy.

Central Railways’ divisional railway manager, SK Jain told Hindustan Times, “We are attempting to turn many stations green this year. All railway stations will soon be equipped with LED (light emitting diode) lightings.”

The Asangaon station is being operated on 10 kilowatts (kW) solar panel and two 5kW solar panels. Transformation of the station operations from conventional to clean energy sources took close to two months. The energy produced from the solar panels and the windmill is expected to exceed the requirement of the station by 5 kW.

There is a windmill outside the station in the east side, clean energy produced from which is used by equipment in the booking office, lights, fans, automatic ticket vending machines (ATVM) and other appliances.

Using clean, renewable energy to operate the Asangaon station not only helped the environment but will also save the railways Rs 11 lakhs annually, on electricity and power bills.

Many railway offices are being equipped with solar panels including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSTM), where last year solar panels were installed.

Central Railways is also looking to save Rs 148 lakhs annually by equipping all stations with LED lights with a target of 31 March. LED lights save money and also have better illumination than regular lights.

Ashok Pendse, a representative of Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission, was quoted in HT saying, “It is a positive step that the railways has taken. The railways will save money the minute they use solar energy. The cost will go down and the environment will be cleaner. In comparison to coal, the renewable energy will be cheaper. It should be cost-competitive.”