Its effective only in day trains, says a senior official

The installation of solar panels on Jan Shatabdi Express and on the premises of Coimbatore Railway Station seems to have delivered mixed results.

A senior railway official said the power tapped by solar panels could be beneficial only for day trains, as in the case of Jan Shatabdi Express between Coimbatore and Mayiladuthurai, which leaves Coimbatore at 7.10 a.m. and reaches Mayiladuthurai at 1.45 p.m. However, in the returning train from Mayiladuthurai, which arrives at 9.15 p.m. in Coimbatore, the solar panels are not of much help. . “In the worst case, the power lasts for only 18 hours,” the official said.

In December 2018, the Southern Railway fitted six non-AC coaches of the Coimbatore - Mayiladuthurai Jan Shatabdi Express train with photovoltaic panels at a cost of ₹ 15.2 lakh, with the panels providing 4.8 kW per coach. In addition to the one coach that was fitted with the solar panels as a trial attempt in 2017, seven out of the 15 coaches are now powered by solar energy tapped through the photovoltaic panels.

Noting that the power saved cannot be accurately quantified, the official said that the fuel consumption in the coaches had reduced a bit, which points to some amount of power conservation.

As for power backup, the official said it was not a practical solution for mobile units such as trains. “The battery capacity [for mobile units] will be large, which will occupy a lot of space and would require heavy investment,” the official said.

Menawhile, the 100 kW solar panels installed at the Coimbatore Railway Station have been contributing to savings in cost and energy.

“During day time, the full load of the station will be connected to it [solar panels],” the official said, adding that solar panels have reduced the dependence on conventional energy sources.

The official noted that solar panels might not be feasible for smaller railway stations due to lack of high demand in case of power consumption.

The railway station consumes about 2,100 units per day for its lights, fans and other miscellaneous requirements.

The solar panels would generate about 450 units per day.

The solar panels were installed atop Platforms 1 and 2 in December 2018 and they contribute to the generation of 11,052 kW of power every month, according to railway sources.