Indian Railways revealed first non-Ac coaches with solar panels on its roof on Tuesday. These flexible solar panels are fitted to operate mobile charging points, fans, and lights.
Ravindra Gupta, member of the railway board inaugurated the first set of coaches as part of an initiative taken by Indian Railway Organization for Alternative Fuels(IROAF). Last year, IROAF installed conventional PV solar panels on six trailer coaches pf diesel-electric multiple unit trains.
This new step would save Rs 3 crore of railways over the 25 years life of the coaches apart from massive carbon dioxide reduction. Fitting of solar panels has been started on the Sitapur-Rewari passenger trains.
“It is expected that each coach will generate between 15-20 units of electricity per day,” the statement said. IROAF is planning to fit solar panels on 250 trailer coaches on DEMU and three coaches of passenger trains running between Varanasi and Lucknow.
