In its endeavour to go green and reduce dependence on conventional energy, the Southern Railway has turned seven coaches of the Coimbatore - Mayiladuthurai - Coimbatore Jan Shatabdi Express solar powered.
The provision of solar rooftop photovoltaic panels on the coaches was entrusted to the Salem Division.
As a trial, one coach was provided with solar PV panels and commissioned in January 2017. Now, six more non-AC coaches in the train have have been provided with the panels at ₹15.20 lakh, providing 4.8 kw per coach. Railway officials said the solar panels functioned well, powering the lights and fans in the coaches.
In case solar energy was not generated, the system would switch to conventional energy.
