Commerce, Industry and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted that “By 2030 we will be a net-zero railway, our carbon emission will be zero. Indian Railways transports nearly 8 billion passengers and 1.2 billion tonnes of freight every year. Ours will be the world’s first Railways of this scale to go green.”
Indian Railways also plans to use its surplus land to generate 20 GW of renewable energy from ‘Made in India’ solar or wind equipment to power its network. Goyal said Indian Railways will be a 100 percent electricity-driven rail network in coming years which would make it the largest such network in the world.
He was addressing CEEW India’s programme on ‘Powering Livelihoods: Transforming India’s Rural Economy with Clean Energy Solutions’. The railways may need to either expand battery storage or other forms of storage for this, he said.
Goyal on Monday also reviewed the progress of the ambitious Dedicated Freight Corridors, and was apprised that the Western Corridor, connecting Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Mumbai, and the Eastern Corridor, starting from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab) to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal, will be completed by December 2021.
“He suggested that involving young fresh minds to suggest best solutions may be encouraged,” the ministry said. “During the meeting, it was decided that strict monitoring of work of all contractors be done. Resolution of all issues, including coordination with the states, to be done on a mission mode. Innovative mechanisms to constantly monitor the weekly progress of the project to be evolved,” it said.
With the need for public transit increasing with each passing year, there has also been a rise in demand for faster transit causing the evolution to superfast trains, but only select countries have pulled them off, here are a few