Western Railway (WR) has installed a biogas plant at Mumbai Central station as part of its environmental initiative. This biogas plant will convert organic waste into gas, which will be used in the kitchens of the WR’s Mumbai Division offices. This is the first initiative of its kind in Mumbai’s railway stations as well as on the Western Railway, according to Chief Public Relations Officer, WR, Ravinder Bhakar. He said the gas produced by the plant will meet the kitchens’ daily requirement.
The plant has the capacity to handle 500 kg of organic waste and was built at a cost of ₹50 lakh. “At present, it is running only at half the capacity. The waste is collected from trains at Mumbai Central station, the coaching depot and the base kitchen at the stations, which should be around 250 kg,” Mr. Bhakar said. In addition to providing clean energy, the plant will ensure that the waste is segregated. “Most of the food waste is thrown into the sewage system because the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has not been collecting wet waste. We will now be able to effectively tackle this issue,” Mr. Bhakar said. At full capacity, the biogas plant will produce one gas cylinder worth of fuel daily.
