Having decided to use bio-diesel in a big way for its fleet of diesel locomotives to reduce fuel consumption, Southern Railway has set out on this task by putting in place necessary infrastructure required for setting up a huge bio diesel tank in Tiruchi.
As a prelude to installing the bio-diesel tank, the work of laying seamless steel pipeline to a length of around 200 metres has commenced within the Diesel Loco Shed at Ponmalai here.
The bio-diesel tank would have a 20,000 litre storage capacity with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) laying the seamless steel pipeline within the premises of the shed that houses different types of diesel locomotives.
The pipeline laying work is expected to be completed in a few days following which the IOC would install a new tank adjoining the shed to store bio-diesel to be procured from a private supplier at Chennai. Southern Railway officials told The Hindu that the bio-diesel tank would be ready by first week of October to enable blending of bio-diesel with high speed diesel for use in diesel locomotives.
Five per cent of bio-diesel is to be blended with 95 per cent of high speed diesel at the Railway Consumer Depot adjoining the Diesel Loco Shed. The blended fuel would be used in the diesel locomotives when they come for refilling at the shed and at the Tiruchi Goods Yard, a senior officer said.
