DIBRUGARH

In line with Indian Railways decision to adopt Head o­n Generation (HOG) technology o­n all Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coach fitted trains; NFR has already taken steps in this regard. The new technology will not o­nly help to reduce the power costs for running AC trains but will also help provide a cleaner environment for our future generations to come. The present LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) coaches have been designed to run o­n End o­n Generation (EOG) system with two power cars employing two DG sets o­n either end.

The new HOG technology will replace the existing two generators in the LHB trains. In this new system power supply will be tapped from overhead power lines through pantograph to the train engine which will then be distributed to the coaches for train lighting, air conditioning, lighting, fans and other equipment that runs o­n the electrical power supply. As the entire N.F. Railway portion has been sanctioned for Railway Electrification; the trains of N.F. Railway with LHB coaches are being modified in various depots and trial run are also being conducted. There will be better reliability due to reduced number of power generating equipments, low maintenance and reduced train weight.

The power generator cars which are being used presently consume about 100 lts diesel per hour, so there is substantial operating expenditure apart from huge noise, fume emission during run. With changeover to this new HOG technology, there will be huge savings in fuel bill thereby saving precious foreign exchange towards import of fuel. Currently, the cost of power through burning of diesel is about Rs. 22/- per unit and with HOG technology it will available at Rs. 6/- per unit. Moreover diesel generators also pollute the air by producing about 1724.6 tons of CO2 and 7.48 tons of NOX per annum apart from producing about 100db of noise. With new HOG technology, there will be zero emission of CO2 and NOX apart from being noiseless. In place of two such generator cars there will be o­ne standby silent generator car to be used for emergency. In place of the other car, there will be LSLRD (LHB Second Luggage, Guard & Divyaang) coach. This LSLRD will also have capability to convert power from the overhead supply to be utilised in the entire train while providing space for luggage guard room and additional passengers. The savings towards fuel cost will be around Rs. 2 cr. per year per rake.

Moreover, these diesel run power cars (EOG) are also being used for testing and pre-cooling of LHB rakes at pit lines of coaching depots which takes about 5-6 hours per rake. So there is considerable consumption of diesel fuel apart from creation of air and noise pollutions. NFR is working to provide 750 V 3-phase power supply to coaching depots (where coaches are maintained) located at Kamakhya, Dibrugarh, New Jalpaiguri, Katihar and Agartala which would be used for testing of LHB rakes instead of the present diesel run generators. Work in Dibrugarh and New Jalpaiguri is already complete and it is in progress at Kamakhya. There will be savings of about Rs. 25,000/- per rake per trip o­n fuel cost incurred during testing of LHB coaches at pit line apart from avoidance of the air and noise pollution that are being caused due to running of these generators during testing and pre-cooling.

NFR is giving due emphasis towards further betterment of passenger amenities o­n train. Passenger amenities o­n train includes better toilets, seats, drinking water, lightings, AC, o­n board cleanliness service, lilens etc.

100% coaches of NFR have already been provided with mobile charging points for the convenience of travellers. For better cleanliness o­n train, OBHS (On board Housekeeping Services) has been provided in 62 pairs of identified long distance trains in NFR where nominated staffs (Coach Mitra) immediately attends any requirement related to cleanliness. The “Clean Rail” app is also available for 53 pairs of train in NFR having OBHS. The Coach Mitra attends to complains received o­nline generated by the passenger. Shortly it will also be made available for remaining 9 pairs of trains. o­n an average about 168 cleaning requests have been received in “Clean Rail” app per month during the period from April to October, 2019. Clean train station schemes have already been implemented in Katihar, New Jalpaiguri and Guwahati stations. Under this schemem 31 trains are cleaned in Katihar, 43 trains in New Jalpaiguri and 33 trains in Guwahati station enroute their journey.

Quick watering system has already been implemented in Guwahati while work is in progress at Lumding and New Jalpaiguri. o­nce completed, long distance trains running through these stations can be watered quickly and the problem of non-availability water can be addressed. Quick watering system will also be implemented in various important stations like Katihar, Alipurduar, New Coochbehar, New Bongaigaon, Rangapara, Mariani, Badarpur etc. shortly.

Similarly, out of 3193 coaches, 3061 coaches of N.F. Railway have already been provided with LED lights which are not o­nly environment friendly but also gives a better aesthetic feel. Three mechanised laundries at New Jalpaiguri, Kamakhya and Dibrugarh are catering to about 65% of the requirement of providing machine cleaned and washed lilen to passenger. It is expected to increase upto 80% by March, 2020.

All these above initiatives are helping passenger to get better experience during journey by train.