Tuesday, August 06, 2013: Solar power is reaching places! In the coming days, we will see solar power being utilised to power air conditioned train coaches. The Integral Coach Factory is set to work on the project in association with IIT Madras. The project involves designing coaches that will harness the power of the sun for the purpose of interior lighting and cooling.
Before this, the Indian railways never attempted to tap solar power. This will also lessen the dependence of railways on fossil fuel and power grid. This project has been undertaken keeping in mind the fact that in future the demand for air conditioned coaches will go up and hence, more diesel will be consumed in order to power the coaches.
Shatabdi Express, Duronto and double decker trains make use of power cars to source power for AC. Other trains rely on power which is generated from the speed of the train. The railways will do away with power cars, once the project proves to be successful. There is no certainty with regard to the duration of the project.
But, the problem with this new technology is that the trains run through different climatic zones even in a single trip, therefore powering an air conditioned coach purely with sun could be a big challenge. Something similar happened last year with Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram train.
Let us know what you feel about this project…
