The Delhi division of the Northern Railway handles a fleet of 650 passenger trains and caters to nearly nine lakh passengers daily.
While managing operations at this scale is challenging enough, the division is trying to keep its carbon footprint to a bare minimum.
From CNG-run trains to bio-toilets, solar panels on train rooftops, plantation drives, and LED lights at stations, the division is doing its fair share to go green.
The Delhi division has introduced CNG-run trains on four sections: Shamli-Delhi, Rohtak-Rewari, Delhi-Kurukshetra, and Delhi Sarai-Farrukhnagar. “The effort to convert railway engines to CNG has been pioneered by the Northern Railway. Its diesel shed at Shakurbasti carried out structural changes in one of the existing driving-powered coaches to convert it to CNG-diesel mode,” said a Northern Railway spokesperson.
Apart from solar power plants at stations and offices, the Northern Railway has installed solar panels on rooftops, with one prototype already in operation.
The Delhi division has started afforestation in railway land wherever possible including a Bougainvillea plantation done between the New Delhi and Tilak Bridge stations. The initiative is not only eco-friendly, but also deters people from throwing filth on railway land.
The division has also installed 750 bio-toilets in 260 coaches this year. These toilets have tanks containing anaerobic bacteria beneath the lavatory that converts human waste into water and gas. The division is also planning to carry out water audits to assess consumption and wastage of water at stations like New Delhi, Delhi junction, and Hazrat Nizamuddin. A one million per day waste water recycling plant is under construction at the New Delhi Washing Line Complex. The recycled water would be used for washing and horticulture purposes.
Meanwhile, LED lights are being fitted in train coaches to improve illumination and reduce energy consumption. LED lights have also been installed at tower lighting, platform lighting, foot over-bridges, service building, conference halls, hospitals, schools, and street lighting under Delhi division.
