Union Road Transport Ministry is in talks with the Railway Ministry to set up electric vehicle charging points at railway stations across the country.
In an interaction with Deccan Herald, an official from the Ministry of Road Transport stated that if EV charging stations can be implemented across the wide area railway network across the country then it will turn out to be beneficial both for e-vehicle users as well as for the Indian Railway division. By setting up e-vehicle charging points, railways can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emission.
To flag off this idea, Indian Railways is planning to set up e-vehicle charging units at New Delhi and Nizamuddin railway station parking areas in the national capital. For setting up EV charging points, railways will have an agreement with power distribution companies on revenue sharing basis for supplying electricity.
An official from the railway department informed the English Daily that initially each of the two stations will have five fast charging DC points which is capable of charging 10 e-cars simultaneously. The railway authority intends to expand this service further to other places as well depending on the success of the first project.
DH reported that Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is already in talks with the Petroleum Ministry to set up charging stations at various petrol pumps. By encouraging electric-vehicles, the NDA government is planning to reduce the burden on oil imports. To encourage this move further, the Ministry of Power has already clarified that there is no separate licence is required to set up charging points.