Cleaner Travel: Indian Railways Installs Material Recovery Facilities At Over 250 Stations For Waste Management

Indian Railways is planning to reduce water consumption by 20 per cent by the end of this year and have set up material recovery facilities (MRF) for waste management in more than 250 stations.

Railway Board chairman and chief executive officer Anil Kumar Lahoti said this while speaking at the 7th International Conference Rail Tech 2023, organised by ASSOCHAM.

Beyond climate action, the railways has also taken significant steps to tackle other environmental challenges such as water and waste management, said Lahoti.

The Railway Ministry would be working in close cooperation and support from all stakeholders, including industry bodies like ASSOCHAM in order to continue the journey towards modernisation using latest technologies, so that transportation in the country becomes commensurate with the country’s goals and aspirations of 'Viksit Bharat'.

Modern transport systems are technology based and Indian Railways is leading from the front.

Indian Railways has been utilising its huge talent base in modernising its assets and infrastructure using innovative technologies in several areas such as track constructions, electrification, signalling, information technology, manufacturing of locomotives and coaches and maintenance of track, monitoring of trains, control, communications and electronics and design material etc, added Lahoti.

Giving more insights, he says, in renewables, Indian Railways has commissioned 200 MW of solar, 103 MW of wind power till April 2023. Further, 1.7 GW of renewable capacity from different sources are also being tied up.

In future, Indian Railways plans to partner with industry to design, innovate and make available secure and sustainable energy supply to Indian Railways at a reasonable cost.

While addressing the conference, Railway Board member (Infrastructure) Roop Narayan Sunkar, shared his insights on how Indian railways successfully achieved 1,223 route kilometres of electrification.

He also mentioned about the green energy project that aims to install 200 MW of wind plants and 1000 MW of solar power plants with over 204.82 MW of renewable energy already installed.

In his welcome address, A K Agarwal, chairman, National Council on Public Procurement, ASSOCHAM and CMD, River Engineering Ltd, shared India is regarded to have one of the largest railway systems in the entire globe. The Indian government has given investments in train infrastructure priority by putting in place policies that are helpful to investors.

He said the infrastructure for freight trains has been improved by Indian Railways, and high-speed train technology has advanced quickly. Many domestic and foreign companies are looking into investing in rail projects in India.

Rajesh Mohata, CEO and executive director, Jindal Lifestyle Ltd said, as countries strive to enhance transportation systems, India has taken a significant step to forward with the introduction of Vande Bharat Express.

The goal is to modernise the railways and embrace digitisation for advanced train travel. He also added that the national rail plan recognises the importance of sustainable development in the railway sector. The plan aims to reduce carbon emissions and promote green energy.

Arun Khosla, Managing Director, Jindal Rail Infrastructure Ltd said, digital transformation is the key to expand rail transportation in today's economy. There is a need to embrace technological advancements, modernise railway operations and streamlining procurement procedures.

For domestic suppliers of contemporary railroad technologies, there are many opportunities. Advancements in passenger coaches, wagons, and bogies, high-speed train sets for passenger operations, contemporary safety, and wagon surveillance, as well as initiatives to increase freight loading, have all been made.