VASCO: The South Western Railway (SWR) has proposed to run at least 60 trains on electric traction by March 2022, resulting in Rs 9.05 crore savings per month.
As per the information provided by the SWR, with electrification, for power supply on board the coaches, Head on Generation (HoG) technology will be used which will draw electricity directly from over head line and diesel generator use will be stopped. This will result in significant savings and reduction in pollution.
In SWR, so far in 30 trains, power car has been made HoG technology compliant. This has resulted in savings of Rs 33.65 crore in 2021-22. Complete electrification of Indian Railways will result in savings of approximately Rs 13,500 crore per annum. The SWR on fast track of electrification Indian Railways (IR) is moving towards becoming a “net zero carbon emitter” before 2030. The Indian Railways is looking at helping the environment from its biggest to the smallest steps ranging from massive electrification, day to day water and paper conservation.
In 2020-21, Indian Railways completed 6,100 route kms and SWR completed 303 route kms of electrification. The entire Indian Railways broad-gauge network and the SWR rail network set to be electrified completely by December 2023. Complete electrification of Indian Railways will result in savings of approximately Rs 13,500 crore per annum.
In terms of Solar initiative, in South Western Railway, 128 stations and 306 Level Crossing Gates are provided with Solar Panels with energy generation capacity of 4535 kw.
The SWR has also worked towards rainwater harvesting. 6,112 Rain Water Harvesting systems have been installed in railways up to March 2021.In South Western Railway, 363 locations are provided with Rain Water Harvesting systems.
In SWR, till date nine stations in Hubballi Division, including Vasco da Gama station has been certified with ISO 14001:2015 Certification in Environment Management Certification. This has enabled these stations to be maintained in an environmental friendly manner. Solid and liquid waste disposal, handling is being done in a scientific manner following the principles of waste segregation at source and environmental-friendly disposal.
