New Delhi, December 17 (IANS). Indian Railways has achieved a major achievement in the use of clean energy. Till November this year, Railways has commissioned 898 MW solar power plants for its functioning.
In the year 2014, Railways used only 3.68 MW solar energy, which has now increased to 898 MW. During this period, the use of solar energy has increased by about 244 times.
According to the Railway Ministry, at present 2,626 railway stations in the country are using solar energy. Due to this, the electricity expenditure of Railways is being reduced and the environment is also being harmed less.
Railways said that the pace of use of solar energy has increased further in the current financial year. Till November, 318 new railway stations have been connected to the solar power network. With this the total number of stations using solar energy has increased to 2,626.
Of the total solar power commissioned, 629 MW is being used to run trains. This directly provides electricity to electric trains. The remaining 269 MW of energy is being used for station lights, workshops, service buildings and railway colonies.
This balanced use of solar energy reduces the dependence on normal electricity and improves the functioning of the Railways.
According to the ministry, solar plants installed at railway stations, buildings and on railway land are meeting the growing power needs of Indian Railways. This is strengthening energy security and helping in reducing pollution. Such steps show that Indian Railways is committed to achieving the target of net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Meanwhile, Indian Railways’ Vande Bharat Express has changed the definition of rail travel in India since its launch in February 2019. Today, 164 Vande Bharat train services are running connecting major cities of the country.
These trains provide fast, safe and comfortable travel experience to the passengers. The popularity of Vande Bharat Express can be understood from the fact that since 2019, more than 7.5 crore passengers have traveled in this hi-tech train.
–IANS
Durgesh Bahadur/ABS