Western Railway Wins First Prize In Energy Conservation Awards 2020

Western Railway bagged three prestigious National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) in ‘Transport’ and ‘Building – Govt offices’ categories for the year 2020, by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power. 

It has been awarded the First Prize in the Transportation Category along with First and Third prize in Buildings Category for Divisional Railway Manager’s offices at Bhavnagar and Rajkot respectively.

As per the press release issued by Sumit Thakur, Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, the prizes are won for the efforts made by these divisions to promote energy efficiency in the non-traction area. Western Railway is constantly working towards energy efficiency and a clean environment for many years. The top honour has been given to Western Railway for significant improvements in energy conservation by adopting various measures, which are as follows:-

• During 2019-20, electrification of 664 km was done on Western Railway, which is highest in Indian Railway.
• The introduction of electric traction reduces the consumption of Diesel oil and improves the efficiency of transportation, reducing the carbon footprint.
• Western Railway is operating 67 regular train pairs with Head-On Generation and stopped the use of diesel generator set for power supply to coaches, thus achieving a net saving of about Rs 50 Crore.
• 8.67 MWp capacity rooftop solar plants have been provided at various railway stations, office & service buildings. These plants have generated 5.47 million units of green energy resulting in a net saving of Rs.2.25 crores per annum.
• Energy-efficient 5-star rated electrical appliances are used extensively in office and service buildings.
• Energy-efficient LED lights have been installed at all the stations, service buildings & residential quarters resulting in a saving of about Rs. 12 crores per annum.
• The introduction of three-phase technology and improvement in driving techniques has helped in 15% improvement in the SEC, a net saving of about Rs.15 crores per annum.

In September, the Western Railway (WR) had come out with the claim that it has saved a substantial amount of Rs 3 crore on its power bills by successfully exploiting solar energy at 75 of its stations on the network. A WR official specified that these rooftop solar plants generate nearly 8.67 MW of clean and green energy, which resulted in savings during the current fiscal, besides accelerating the Indian Railways’ mission to achieve the goal of ‘Net Zero Carbon Emission Railway’ before 2030, said WR chief spokesperson Sumit Thakur.