South Central Railway electrifies 95% of tracks, installs plastic crushers, compost units, and bio-toilets in sweeping sustainability drive
Hyderabad: The Indian Railways is planning to transform all its offices and equipment to be environment-friendly to reduce pollution. Under this initiative, started in 2016, the South Central Railway (SCR) zone electrified 95 per cent of its 6,609-km broad gauge tracks, reducing pollution and also saving immensely on fuel bills. SCR is also planning to switch to modern energy-efficient fittings, especially in small stations.
According to the SCR officials, they installed 109 plastic bottle crushing machines at 76 major stations in the zone to ensure proper disposal of plastic bottles. Similarly, they have set up 23 waste-to-compost plants at 22 major stations for the disposal of biodegradable waste generated at the stations. Eighteen such plants are under commissioning. The zone has provided 37 sanitary napkin incinerators at different places.
With the introduction of bio-toilets on trains, the railways has eliminated the problem of direct discharge of human waste from trains. It is also introducing bio-vacuum toilets in new coaches to reduce water consumption in toilets. People living close to tracks, however, want the railways to control passengers from dumping waste along the routes by taking stringent action against them.
