SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad Oct 24: Following the steps of Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, now the trains on New Delhi- Howrah chord line would run on solar energy in Dhanbad Rail Division soon.
The Railway board has planned to set up solar energy plants on unused land beside railway tracks between Howrah- New Delhi grand chord lines, under Dhanbad rail division.
As per the plan of railway, trains would run between Pradhankhanta railway station in Dhanbad to Badhwa station (Gaya district) on solar energy on the grand chord line of East Central Railway (ECR) Zone in the first phase.
Senior Division Commercial Manager (Sr DCM) of Dhanbad rail division, Akhilesh Pandey, said that assessment of 200 km long Pradhankhanta to Badhwa railway station has been made for setting up of solar plants beside the railway track to run the project.
Pandey said Railway Energy Management Corporation Limited (REMCL) has been assigned the responsibility of setting up the solar energy plants between this 200 km long stretch.
“Spots for setting up solar plants have been identified between the two railway stations for the first phase of this project. If we exploit the complete capacity, a minimum 100 MW power could be generated by the project,” said Pandey.
Running the train using solar energy is not only eco-friendly but also cost-effective as the railway board has to pay heavy amounts to power companies for power supply on the grand chord line.
Running the trains using solar energy has already started in Diwana of Haryana and Beena in Madhya Pradesh as a pilot project.
