Southern Railway on fast track to becoming energy-efficient and eco-friendly
Coimbatore: The IndianRailways (IR) is working on various ambitious missions tobecoming the largest Green Railwaysinthe world and is moving towards becoming a ‘net zero carbon emitter’ before year 2030. In a bid to achieve this, several energy conservation measures are being adopted by the IR and Southern Railway.
Commenting on them, B. Guganesan, Chief Public Relations Officer of the Southern Railway said “Indian Railways has introduced what is called the Head On Generators (HOG) whereby electrical power is fed to the coaches, for lighting and fans, directly from the OverHead Equipment(OHE) through the Locomotive.” This he adds will automatically eliminate the need for individual power car coaches and improve efficiency. Throwing light on numbers, he shared that as many as 1,280 trains are equipped withthe HOG system in Indian Railways. This will facilitate reduction of carbon footprint by 31,88,929 Ton per annum andis helping in saving fuel costs to the tune of Rs 2,300 crore due to elimination of power cars.
In the Southern Railway, 27 pairs of trains were run with HOG complaintrakes during the year 2020-21. A total of 51 pairs of trains are currently running with HOG locos which is yielding Southern Railway an annual savings of Rs.100 crores. Reducing pollution by shifting from diesel locos to electric locos withincreasingelectrification, Indian Railways has stepped up the production of electric locomotives significantly in the last few years.
Subsequently, the reduced use of diesel locomotives for train operation has resulted in increased share of electric Gross Ton Km (GTKM) (around 77%) as compared to 65.4% during 2013-14 in haulage of freight trains and huge savings in diesel consumption. In Southern Railway during the year 2020-21, about 27 pairs of trains were taken over from other railways in electric traction which has resulted in releasing 22 diesel locos. This has reduced the transit time required for loco change from electric to diesel traction and vice versa.
New and better locos with higher energy efficiency Indian Railways has awarded a contract for supply of 800 electric locomotives with 12,000 HP Insulated Gate Bipolar transistor based three phase propulsion technology. “These locomotives are energy efficient and have digital tracking features. Around 106 of these have been inducted on IR to haul heavier freight trains at higher speeds. At full load, their efficiency is 87%. It has been decided to produce only 3 phase propulsion fitted electric locomotives in all three production units of Indian Railways.” B. Guganesan Chief Public Relations Officer of Southern Railway said.
Commenting on them, B. Guganesan, Chief Public Relations Officer of the Southern Railway said “Indian Railways has introduced what is called the Head On Generators (HOG) whereby electrical power is fed to the coaches, for lighting and fans, directly from the OverHead Equipment(OHE) through the Locomotive.” This he adds will automatically eliminate the need for individual power car coaches and improve efficiency. Throwing light on numbers, he shared that as many as 1,280 trains are equipped withthe HOG system in Indian Railways. This will facilitate reduction of carbon footprint by 31,88,929 Ton per annum andis helping in saving fuel costs to the tune of Rs 2,300 crore due to elimination of power cars.
In the Southern Railway, 27 pairs of trains were run with HOG complaintrakes during the year 2020-21. A total of 51 pairs of trains are currently running with HOG locos which is yielding Southern Railway an annual savings of Rs.100 crores. Reducing pollution by shifting from diesel locos to electric locos withincreasingelectrification, Indian Railways has stepped up the production of electric locomotives significantly in the last few years.
Subsequently, the reduced use of diesel locomotives for train operation has resulted in increased share of electric Gross Ton Km (GTKM) (around 77%) as compared to 65.4% during 2013-14 in haulage of freight trains and huge savings in diesel consumption. In Southern Railway during the year 2020-21, about 27 pairs of trains were taken over from other railways in electric traction which has resulted in releasing 22 diesel locos. This has reduced the transit time required for loco change from electric to diesel traction and vice versa.
New and better locos with higher energy efficiency Indian Railways has awarded a contract for supply of 800 electric locomotives with 12,000 HP Insulated Gate Bipolar transistor based three phase propulsion technology. “These locomotives are energy efficient and have digital tracking features. Around 106 of these have been inducted on IR to haul heavier freight trains at higher speeds. At full load, their efficiency is 87%. It has been decided to produce only 3 phase propulsion fitted electric locomotives in all three production units of Indian Railways.” B. Guganesan Chief Public Relations Officer of Southern Railway said.