COIMBATORE: More than six months after the trial run of south India’s first solar-powered coach began along the Jan Shatabdi route between Coimbatore and Mayiladuthurai, the coach continues to run only on trial.
The coach has now begun running between the Chennai and Vridhachalam section. With the coach running successfully across different sections, Salem division has now applied for funds worth around Rs 35 lakh to acquire a complete solar-powered 12-coach rake.
“Solar-powering more coaches has been stalled and delayed due to a fund crunch,” said Salem’s divisional railway manager Hari Shankar Verma. “Each solar powered coach costs around Rs 4.5 lakh each, but with funds of another Rs 35 lakh, we will be able to get a 12-coach rake, which will be fully solar-powered,” he told TOI.
Power from solar panels fixed on top of the coaches provide enough electricity to power the lights and fans inside the coaches. “We only require diesel to run the coach and the air-conditioning,” said Verma. “Once the 12-coach rake comes in, we will again have to get a safety clearance and run repeated trial runs before we decide which route we can introduce it,” he said.
“We will probably again be made to run the train with three solar-powered coaches attached and then slowly add the rest,” said a railways official.
Solar-powered engines and coaches were launched as part of the railways’ Go Green initiative on January 6. The coaches have 16 solar panels mounted on them. They can also withstand wind velocity, vibration and shock when the train is running.
Ultimately the railway plans to have six non-AC coaches powered fully by solar panels.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes
