The Delhi Division of Northern Railway will be taking a big step in its green initiative in June when it will commission a first-of-its-kind ‘bio-waste processing plant’ at Kishanganj Railway Colony.
From CNG-run trains to bio-toilets, solar panels at stations and rooftops of offices and trains, plantation drives and LED lighting, the division has added quite a few feathers to its green cap in the last one year.
Power generation
The bio-waste plant will turn biodegradable waste generated in the colony into compost and even electricity.
The plant is expected to process about 1,000 kg of waste generated by the largest railway colony of the Indian Railways.
“The output will be used as compost for our nursery, it will also generate 70-80 KWhr. of electricity per tonne of waste, which will be used for street lights in the colony,” said Arun Arora, Divisional Railway Manager.
The estimated project cost is Rs. 38 lakh. The plant will be housed in a 40-foot container and will be powered by solar panels.
“We are also going to convert all our Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) trains to CNG eventually. The first one was started in the Rewari section, followed by Shamli,” Mr. Arora said.
At present, four sections of the Delhi Division has CNG-powered trains but Mr. Arora said that work is on to convert the entire fleet to CNG.
“We are moving towards alternative fuel and are also trying to increase the limit of blending bio-diesel with diesel, from the present five per cent to 10 per cent, to the maximum permissible limit,” he said.
Full effort
The division has solar panels at its major offices and stations in Delhi, and work is on to install solar pumps on the Ghaziabad-Shamli section, Mr. Arora said.
Fittings for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have also been introduced in coaches to improve illumination and reduced energy consumption.
LED lights have also been installed at platforms, foot-over-bridges, service buildings, conference halls, hospitals, schools and the streets.
“We are now in the process of installing LED lights at all our residential colonies and offices,” Mr. Arora said.
Plant can process 1,000kg of waste; energy will be used for street lighting in Kishanganj colony
