The Minister of Railways Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal has said that some of the new steps that have been taken or are proposed to be taken on the Green Energy front are as follows:

i. Setting up of Railway Energy Management Company (REMC) to harness potential of solar and wind energy;

ii. Setting up of 75 MW windmill plants and energizing 1000 level crossings with solar power;

iii. Deployment of new generation energy efficient electric locomotives and electrical multiple units (EMUs) saving about 60 crore units in 2011-12. Railways has also won the National Energy Conservation Award;

iv. Encourage more usage of agro-based and recycled paper and ban use of plastic in catering.

Presenting the Railway Budget for 2013-14 in Parliament today the Minister said, he proposes to set up a Chair at TERI to promote railway related research to reduce country’s carbon footprint.

MKP/AD/DB

(Release ID :92509)

Green energy initiatives expand railway renewables and efficiency, adding wind and solar projects and a research chair. Operational measures include creation of a Railway Energy Management Company to develop solar and wind capacity; installation of wind plants and conversion of level crossings to solar power; deployment of new-generation energy-efficient electric locomotives and EMUs to reduce electricity consumption; procurement preferences for agro-based and recycled paper and a ban on plastic in catering. A budget proposal complements these steps by establishing a Chair at TERI to promote railway-related research to lower emissions and improve energy efficiency.