To contribute in Indian Railways bid to make itself carbon-free by 2030, the Mumbai Division of Central Railway has taken a number of initiatives for the use of renewable energy to safeguard the environment and also to save several lakhs of rupees. Lonavala & Khandala belt as a hill station is one of the most popular tourist spots among Indians and now Lonavala station & its adjoining railway premises will completely run on clean & green energy. This will be a feather in the cap to the already existing green stretch between Lonavala & Khandala.
Lonavala, along with other railway stations over Mumbai Division of Central Railway is now among the elite club of railway stations that are harnessing solar power for its operations. Central Railway has initiated a number of major green initiatives to mitigate global warming and combat climate change, by producing clean energy and saving lakhs of rupees on power bills annually. Apart from station lighting, Central Railway also installed solar panels, solar trees & solar water coolers etc.
Lonavala Railway Station’s roof top of Platform no. 2/3 is now installed with solar panels to produce 76 Kw power. The energy harnessed from the solar panels to the tune of 68,400 Kwh annually will help Lonavala railway station to save in power bills. Two beautiful solar trees each having 4×10 W LED fittings integrated with 40 W Solar Panels are erected to illuminate the Garden at the bazaar side of Lonavala station. It proved to be a cynosure to the eyes of the passengers of Lonavala. One Solar powered water cooler is also provided at Lonavala station.
Six 33W outdoor integrated type solar street poles have been provided at the entry of BVT yard Loco Pilot / Guard running room. A green gang hut is created at BVT yard, Lonavala by providing 1 Kwp rooftop storage type solar panel with two 160 Ah batteries and 1 Kva inverter, level crossing gate no.30 near Khandala station is provided with 1 Kwp rooftop storage type solar panel with two 160 Ah batteries and 1 Kva inverter. With all this use of renewable energy, Khandala – Lonavala rail stretch has turned towards green and clean energy.
Rooftop grid connected solar panels are provided at Chembur railway station 60 Kwp – 54,000 Kwh annual power generation, Dockyard Road railway station 30 Kwp -27,000 Kwh, Asangaon railway station 16.3 Kwp (solar and wind)- 14,670 kWh, Apta station 5 Kwp – 4,500 kWh, Pen station 6.3 Kwp & 5 kWp solar panel – 10,470 Kwh, Roha station 18.2 Kwp – 16,200 KWh annual power generation.
Apart from illumination of lights and charging of the batteries, Central Railway has also provided solar powered water coolers at 5 stations, one each at Pen, Apta, Roha, Neral and Lonavala stations. This 1×25 Wp Solar powered water cooler of 150 litre storage capacity with 45 LPH cooling capacity with polypropylene filter cartridge is expected to save a revenue of Rs.1.45 lakh annually.
In addition to this, CSMT station building, Kalyan Railway School, Kalyan Railway Hospital, Kurla & Sanpada Car sheds are also fitted with solar panels to meet their energy needs. The anticipated generation due to these renewable energy initiatives will be 18.73 Lakhs Kwh and saving in energy bills per annum will be Rs. 145.1 Lakhs.
These measures by Mumbai Division of Central Railway are part of Indian Railways’ long-term sustainability goals. Further, the utilization of renewable power for non-traction, which has gained popularity among Indian Railways will not only bring savings in energy expenses, but will also enable Railways to create a green, safe and livable world.
