Environmentally friendly means of travel are quickly becoming all the more important as the technology progresses and governments realize its importance. Not only do such measures reduce the negative impact on the environment due to existing methods, they also lead to reduce costs over the long run.
In a significant move towards eco-friendly mass transport, the railway minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off the very first Indian dual fuel train. The term ‘dual fuel’ signifies that the train can utilize both Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as well as diesel for locomotion. The train runs between the Rewari-Rohtak section of northern zone. It has a capacity of 770 passengers.
There are two power cars and six car coaches which have been manufactured by Integral Coach Factory at Chennai with the CNG conversion kits supplied by Cummins.
Currently, CNG would account for 20% of the fuel requirements of the modified 1400 BHP engine. Officials have stated that the usage will increase up to 50% once the final trials for the same are successfully completed. CNG engines emit lesser pollutants (especially green house gases) and almost no particulate contaminants. The highlight is the fact that these engines emit 90% less Carbon Monoxide, and 25% less Carbon Di-Oxide. This obviously reduces the Carbon-impact on the environment. Also rather impressively, these cleaner engines will reduce running costs by 50% which is a huge margin.
The officials said too that more trains like this will be put in to service once the CNG technology has matured and abundant supply of the green fuel is established. There are also plans to introduce Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) based solutions.
This marks a significant milestone in the Indian railways scene.
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