India’s first green station is located at Manwal on the Jammu-Udhampur rail route. It has been provided with solar power to address the issue of frequent power cuts. The station lighting and fans are now working on solar power, with the state electric supply serving as a backup in case of any failure of the solar system. The electric load of S&T installations and one water cooler is on the state electric supply. To reduce the existing load at the small station, some surplus fittings have been removed, and energy-efficient T-5 fittings, 60W fans, new exhaust fans (55 Watt), and CFLs have been installed. The station building load has been segregated into two portions, with each portion being fed by one group of solar panels. All wiring, installation, and commissioning has been done departmentally without any outside assistance. Additional solar panels for increasing backup for power supply and standalone lights for complete platform lighting are planned to be provided for further improvement in the system after successful trials.
What is India’s first green station and how does it work?
