For the first time in Indian railways, the Waltair Division of East Coast Railway (ECoR) has introduced electric vehicles in place of hired diesel vehicles to meet the day-to-day operational and maintenance of assets of the railways.
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At present about 50 hired vehicles are being used for the transportation in the division out of which 50% vehicles are being used for the crew and other staff transportation.
In order to reduce the pollution and running expenditure, Divisional Railway Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava conceived the idea of inducting electric vehicles with the help of the ECoR Women’s Welfare Organisation, Waltair.
The vehicles were procured by ECoRWWO. The e-vehicles were inaugurated by Shalini Shrivastava, president of ECoRWWO. Mr. Shrivastava, Madhulika Saxena and Usha Ramachandra Rao, vice-presidents, and Madhuri Kasipathi, secretary, ECoRWWO, Ramanna, former Senior Divisional Electrical Engineer, and M. Mahesh Reddy, Senior Divisional Electrical Engineer(operations) were among those present.
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The yearly average expenditure on one hired vehicle is around ₹8.43 lakh whereas the price of one e-rickshaw is about ₹2 lakh.
One e-rickshaw gives a mileage of 60 km per charge, and it takes about 4 to 5 hours for one full charge by consuming six units of power. It has four batteries and one electric drive connected to the rear wheels of the rickshaw.