101 Trains from (CVJ)CHAVAJ to (MPR)MAKARPURA

A STEP TOWARDS GREEN & CLEAN ENERGY

WESTERN RAILWAY INSTALLS ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) CHARGING FACILITY AT VADODARA STATION

This facility can charge upto 10 Electric Vehicles at a time

It’s a first of its kind EV charging facility over Indian Railways at par with petrol pumps, having drinking water & washroom facilities for the users

Installed under Non Fare Revenue (NFR) contract,

it will generate revenue to the tune of approx. Rs. 35 lakhs

Taking forward the commitment of Energy Saving & Environment Conservation, Western Railway is working o­n a mission mode towards de-carbonization and generation of green energy. In this direction, WR has installed Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging point facilities at various railway stations to promote Green Mobility. o­n the same lines, WR’s Vadodara Division has taken a novel step of installing such Electric Vehicle charging facility at Vadodara railway station under Non Fare Revenue (NFR) contract.

According to a press release issued by Shri Sumit Thakur – Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, aiming towards Energy Conservation & Environment Preservation, Western Railway is adopting several initiatives which helps to curb pollution as well as reduce carbon emissions. An Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Facility has been installed at Vadodara Railway station under Non Fare Revenue (NFR) contract. It will generate revenue of approx. Rs. 35 lakhs during the contract period. It is worth mentioning that this EV charging facility is a first-of-its-kind of EV with a set up at par with petrol pumps and have been provided with drinking water & washroom facilities for the users. The facility can charge 10 electric vehicles simultaneously.

Shri Thakur further stated that this is the 8^th railway station in Vadodara Division to be equipped with the EV charging facility, thereby, giving a boost to the government's vision of building EV ecosystem. o­n Vadodara Division, such facility is also available at Makarpura, Utran, Dabhoi, Karamsad, Kharsaliya, Ranoli & Modasa and more are under planning stage.

*****

WESTERN RAILWAY INSTALLED ROOFTOP SOLAR PANELS OF 5601.69 KWp CAPACITY AT 75 STATIONS

Photo caption :- A view of the solar power panels installed o­n rooftop of a railway station.

In order to achieve the objective of Indian Railways to become 100% self sustainable for all it's power needs and also to contribute to national solar power goals, Western Railway has solarised its 75 stations till date. The use of solar power will accelerate the Railway's mission to achieve the goal of becoming “Net Zero Carbon Emission Railway”before 2030.

According to a press release issued by Shri Sumit Thakur - Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, suitable Rooftop Solar Panels have been installed at 75 stations over Western Rly. 8.67 MWpcapacity rooftop solar plants have been provided at various railway stations and office buildings. These plants have been commissioned and connected to grid and as a result, there is a saving ofRs. 3 crore is accrued during the financial year.

Shri Thakur informed that Solar Plants have been installed at 22 stations in Mumbai Division, 34 stations in Ratlam Division, 6 stations of Vadodara Division & 8 stations in Rajkot Division. Similarly, in Ahmedabad Division, solar plants have been installed at Sabarmati & Ambli Road stations as well as Ahmedabad station building whereas in Bhavnagar Division at Bhavnagar station & Somnath station building. In Mumbai Division, the rooftop Solar Plants have been installed at Churchgate, Grant Road, Matunga Road, Andheri, Mumbai Central, Lower Parel, Mahim, Khar Road, Santacruz, Ram Mandir, Malad, Kandivali, Borivali, Dahisar, Mira Road, Bhayander, Naigaon, Vasai Road, Nallasopara, Dahanu Road stations, while atDadar as well as at Bandra Terminus, station buildings & platforms. In Ratlam Division, rooftop Solar Plants have been installed at Chanderiya, Nimbhera, Gambhiri, Jawad Road, MangliyaGaon, Ajnod, Lakshmibai Nagar, Ranyal, Jasmiya, Pipliya, Mandsaur, Nauganwan, Runija, Bangrod, Sehore, Kalapipla, Pachwan, Maksi, Vikramnagar station buildings, Indore, Ujjain, Dewas, Chittaurgadh, Meghnagar, Bajrangarh, Fatehabad, Gautampura, Dr. Ambedkar Nagar (Mhow), Nagda, Nimach, Jaora,Badnagar, Shujalpur, Kachrod stations and at Ratlam station building & platforms. In Vadodara Division, the rooftop Solar Plants have been installed at Vadodara, Od, Makarpura, Varnarna, Sadhanpura station buildings and at Godhra staton building & platforms. In Rajkot Division, the rooftop Solar Plants have been installed at Rajkot, Okha, Jamnagar, Chamaraj, Lakhamachi, Modpur, Lakhabawal and Pipli stations.

It is worth mentioning that Indian Railways is set to produce solar energy for meeting all it's energy consumption needs of more than 33 billion units by 2030. Current annual requirement is about 20 billion units. Indian Railways has a mega plan for installing solar plants of 20 GW capacity by 2030 by utilizing its vacant land. About 51,000 hectares of vacant land is available with Indian Railways and is now ready to extend all support to the developers for installing solar power plants o­n Railway’s vacant un-encroached land. It may be noted that Railways is also set to achieve 100% electrification by the year 2023 and is committed to utilize solar energy for meeting its traction power requirement and become a complete ‘Green mode of transportation’. This is in line with the recent directive of Hon’ble Prime Minister to solarise railway stations and utilize vacant railway land for Renewable Energy (RE) projects.

******