The Coimbatore Railway Station has received the ‘platinum’ rating from the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), becoming the only railway station in Southern Railway and the sixth railway station in India to receive this level of green certification.
Green concepts
According to a release from the Salem Railway Division on Thursday, the IGBC with the support of the Environment Directorate of Indian Railways developed the ‘Green Railway Stations Rating System’ to facilitate adoption of ‘green concepts’ in railway stations, thereby reducing the adverse environmental impacts due to station operation and maintenance.
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Advantages
The ‘green railway stations’ will have advantages such as reduction in water consumption by 30 % - 50% and energy consumption by 20 % -30%, better waste management and increased use of renewable energy.
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The evaluation was done based on six environmental categories as defined by the IGBC - Sustainable Station Facility, Health, Hygiene and Sanitation, Energy Efficiency, Water Efficiency, Smart and Green Initiatives and Innovation and Development.
Coimbatore Railway Station scored 83 out of 100 points during the evaluation to get the ‘platinum’ rating, the release said.
Initiatives
Sources in the Salem Division said that since 2019, the railway station had carried out various ‘green’ initiatives such as waste water recycling, Miyawaki plantations and had installed 370 solar panels (100 kW) for general lighting purposes.
Apart from Coimbatore, the five other railway stations in Indian Railways with IGBC’s ‘platinum’ certification are Secunderabad, New Delhi, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam and Asansol, the release noted.