Indian Railways installs solar panel on 60 passenger coaches so far

February 11, 2021 Rail News

Indian Railways has introduced Solar Power Technology on passenger trains running between Sarai Rohila (Delhi) to Farrukh Nagar (Haryana) in July 2017 for meeting the light and fan load requirement.

So far 60 passenger coaches have been equipped with solar panel for meeting its light and fan power requirements as per the details given below:

  • 14 Nos. Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) Trailer Coaches (TCs) based at Shakurbasti in Delhi.
  • 10 Nos. passenger coaches in Swachata Express at Delhi.
  • 06 Nos. DEMU TC coaches based at Jamalpur, Bihar.
  • 10 Nos. Non-AC passenger coaches based at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow to Varanasi Intercity).
  • 13 Nos. Non-AC passenger coaches under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Funding of IRFC based at Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh (Sitapur-Delhi-Rewari Section).
  • 7 Nos. Non-AC coaches in Train No. 12084-83 Janshatabdi Express, Tamil Nadu.
  •  10 Non-AC coaches at Mathura, Uttar Pradesh to run in Mathura-Alwar Section and 30 Non-AC passenger coaches in Lucknow-Varanasi Section are to be equipped with solar power technology.

Setting up of Solar Panels Plants:

Indian Railways (IR) provides solar plants at Railway stations based on the technical feasibility and viability. 

  • Action has been taken to provide major stations of Madhya Pradesh State with solar panels/plants. 
  • Till date, 79 number of feasible stations have already been provided with solar panels/plants in the State of Madhya Pradesh. 
  • Presently, there is no proposal to set up hybrid wind/solar plants which will be capable of generating electricity through wind, besides solar energy. 
  • Further, IR has plans to progressively provide solar panels/plants at other feasible Railway stations of Madhya Pradesh.
  • Most of the works are being done under developer mode by private partners, in which Railways do not have to incur capital expenditure.
  • The timeline for setting up of solar plants would depend upon the individual plant capacity, location and clearance from the State authorities.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 10 Feb 2021.

Source: PIB-Press Release | Image Credit: North Western Railway