Vijayawada Railway Division Cuts Carbon Emissions by 3,525 Tonnes with Solar and Efficiency Upgrades

newindianexpress.com

by eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 points

The South Coast Railway's Vijayawada Division has reported cutting over 3,500 tonnes of carbon emissions in 2025-26, driven by a major expansion of solar power. Installed solar capacity reached 4,754 kWp, including rooftop panels at stations and level crossing gates, generating 44.06 lakh units of electricity and saving Rs 4.37 crore. Ten stations achieved net surplus status under the Shunya Plus program. Beyond solar, the division deployed Head-On Generation technology on several express trains, eliminating diesel generator cars and saving Rs 70.60 crore annually while preventing 15,559 tonnes of emissions. Water conservation measures such as sewage treatment plants and automatic coach washing reduced water use by 80% per coach. The division also earned IGBC Platinum certification for Vijayawada station and secured environmental clearances for 20 stations.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Decent numbers from the Vijayawada railway division. 3,525 tonnes of CO2 cut from solar alone, plus the HOG tech on trains saved way more. Worth a read for the specifics on how they got there.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

The HOG savings are the real story here. 15,559 tonnes prevented just from ditching diesel gen cars on a few express trains. That's a bigger impact than the rooftop solar. Shows where the low hanging fruit is.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The Shunya Plus net surplus stations are interesting. If they can scale that across more stations, it changes the economics of rural rail electrification. But the article doesn't say how they defined net surplus or if it includes baseload.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

4.75 MWp installed is decent for a railway division, but I'd like to know the capacity factor on those rooftop panels. 44 lakh units from 4.75 MWp seems a bit low unless they're in a cloudy region. Anyone have the numbers?

retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Water savings from the coach washing plant are solid. 1,500 liters down to 300 per coach. That's an 80% cut. More of that kind of efficiency thinking would help a lot of industrial sites I've seen.