Union minister Suresh Prabhu on Saturday said the Indian Railways will save Rs410 billion in the next 10 years on energy cost on account of its thrust on solar power generation and electrification.
According to PTI, Suresh Prabhu said that in the next 10 years, the railways will save Rs410 billion in energy. By electrification, we will reduce diesel consumption. Solar generation will help the environment too. He also informed that only 42 per cent of railway tracks across India have been electrified so far.
On power generation, Prabhu said the railways is committed to reach the target of generating 1,000 MW solar power across the country in the coming years. Prabhu launched the work on electrification of the Raninagar-Jalpaiguri-New Bongaigaon-Guwahati railway route, which is being done by the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd at a total cost of Rs6.56 billion. Besides, the minister commissioned a 700 KWP solar power plant in Guwahati, set up at a cost of Rs67.8 million. Talking about overall work done by the railways in the northeast, Prabhu said Rs190 billion crore has been spent in the region in the last three years.
