IR to install fluorescent lamps in residential colonies

New Delhi: In order to save power, the Indian Railways is planning to install compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) in each of the households in its residential colonies across the country.
Estimates show the railways consume around 12.8 billion units of electricity around 2 billion litres of diesel every year. The railways spends around Rs 12,000 crores on the energy bill, which accounts for 29 per cent of its working expenses.

According to estimates, there are around 1.6 million employees of the railways and even if half of this number has been provided housing, the target audience of the scheme will run into several lakhs.

'We are working out tie-ups with the CFL manufacturers. Initially, around four electrical bulbs will be replaced with CFL lamps in each of the household in the railway colonies spread al over the country,' said a senior official in the railway ministry. Detailing about the power consumption of the railways an official said out of the 63,000 route kilometres of the network, around 18,000 route kilometres have been electrified.

This is just around 28 per cent of the total rail network carrying nearly 63 per cent of freight and 47.8 per cent of passenger traffic.

Officials said the ministry is spending around Rs 5,700 crores per annum for consumption on more than 13,000 million units of electricity towards energy for traction and non-traction purposes.

In order to derive full benefits of the ongoing reforms in the power sector, the railways had decided in consultation with the power ministry to set up joint venture power projects with the National Thermal Power Corporation.

In an effort to cut the power bill of the ministry, the Union Cabinet had earlier approved a railways proposal to avail power from the central generating agencies from the 15 per cent unallocated Central government share rather than purchasing expensive power from the various ate electricity boards. Estimates show the railways are already saving around Rs 50 crores per annum due to implementation of such schemes.

Through this plan, the railways is not only eyeing to cut its power bill, it is also aiming to earn some carbon credits as well.

According to officials, they have signed the two letters of intent for regenerative braking projects for a project in the Mumbai area and another for locomotives. This is probably the first such project in the transport sector the world over.