Union Railways minister Suresh Prabhu has always put forward his views on using solar energy in railways and in a move that could be a trend setter for other verticals, the Indian Railways all set to start trail run of its first train which is powered by solar panels.
Gopal Sharma, the PRO North Western Railways told ANI that the trial run of this train will be conducted by the end of this month.
“This train will be run as a passenger train, the route to be decided after the trial run. This is the initiative by the Railways to make use of alternative source of energy,” he said.
According to the Railways official, the train would have a conventional diesel engine but all the other internal electricity needs to lights, fans, ACs will be powered by solar panels.
According to studies, a train using solar power can reduce diesel consumption by up to 90,000 litres per year and also bring down the carbon dioxide emission by over 200 tonnes.
If this train’s run becomes a success, the Indian Railways will surely look at implementing solar panels in other trains as well.
By Atanu Kumar Das
