Indian Railways goes Eco-friendly : 100 % LED lighting at all railways stations

Indian Railways (IR) is the national railroad carrier of India which transports more than 23 million passengers and 2.4 million tonnes of freight each day and employs 1.34 million employees. It consumes almost 2% of India’s total electricity consumption. IR expenditure on fuel, that includes electricity, is the second largest component of working expenditure. Therefore, it makes sense for IR to take energy efficiency measures in traction and non-traction use to reduce expenditure on electricity and also add to India's climate change mitigation effort. Under this initiative, Ministry of Railways has taken a decision to replace existing lighting fixtures with LEDs at all railways stations on Indian Railways network. 100% LED lighting at all railway stations will lead to a reduction in consumption of energy by about 10% of the total energy being utilized for its Non-traction uses. This would result in savings of about 240 million units of electricity, which will save about $28.00 million per annum to Railways. It would also improve the public image of Indian Railways among passengers. Replacement of existing lighting fixtures at remaining stations is underway. Also, disposal of existing lighting fixtures in an environmentally sound manner as per e-waste management rule is progressing. Saving in Electricity consumption - 240 million units of electricity Saving in expenditure on electricity - $28.00 million per annum While this initiative will come to an end in Mach 2018, there are other activities in energy efficiency which are ongoing. The interested stakeholders may get in touch with Indian Railways.