New Delhi: Concerned over environment, Railways will promote in a big way the use of alternative fuels like bio-diesel for its fleet of diesel locomotives. "We are the single largest bulk consumer of diesel in the country and will be using bio-diesel up to 5 per cent of the total fuel consumption in diesel locomotives," Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said here on June 5 at a seminar on the World Environment Day.
"Besides bio-fuel, solar energy will also be harnessed in a big way. Our aim is to reduce the carbon footprint and we are taking a series of steps in this direction," he said. Railways energy bill is about Rs 30,000 crore in a year out of which diesel costs is about Rs 18,000 as the public transporter consumes over 2 billion litres of diesel every year.
Currently bio-diesel costs Rs 7 less per litre than diesel. While Railways buys diesel at Rs 59 per litre, bio-diesel is Rs 52. Therefore, even a small reduction in fuel consumption through blending with bio-diesel is expected to result in a substantial savings for the Railways in the fuel bill as well as lower carbon emission. Prabhu said Railways will also carry out an energy audit and water audit to reduce its consumption.
Water crisis is a big issue and we will be doing water audit in eight water-stressed states - Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra, Bihar, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, he said. There will be water reclycling plants at stations of these states among other steps to manage water crisis, he said. Prabhu said all new railway buildings will be constructed as green buildings with provision of plenty of natural light, solar panels, and water conservation system among others. It is our endeavour to address the environment issue so that it is protected in the country, he said.
