TURN AROUND NEWS OF INDIAN RAILWAYS
Subject of the Discussion: Reserach on Solar photo voltaic assistance for LHB Rail coaches
Research Undertaken By: M. Shravanth Vasisht, C. Vishal, J. Srinivasan
and Sheela K. Ramasesha of Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India
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Report:
Awareness for the need of sustainable and ecofriendly
mobility has been increasing and various
innovations are taking place in this regard. A study
was carried out to assess the feasibility of installing solar
photovoltaic (PV) modules atop train coaches.
Most long-distance trains having LHB coaches do not
have self-generating systems, thus making power cars
mandatory to supply the required power for lighting
loads. Feasibility of supplementing diesel generator
sets with power from solar PV modules installed on
coach rooftops has been reported in this communication.
Not only is there a conservation of fuel, there is
also a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. This
work has shown that the area available on coach rooftops
is more than sufficient to generate the required
power, during sunlight hours, for the electrical loads
of a non-A/C coach even during winter. All calculations
were done keeping a standard route as the reference.
Taking the cost of diesel to be Rs 66/litre, it was
estimated that there will be annual savings of
Rs 5,900,000 corresponding to 90,800 litres diesel per
rake per year by implementing this scheme. The
installation cost of solar modules would be recovered
within 2–3 years. Implementation of this scheme would
also amount to an annual reduction of 239 tonnes of
CO2 emissions.
In recent times, much research is being carried out to
develop sustainable forms of transportation. This is necessary
because transportation sector is a source of CO2
emissions and is a cause of global warming. Solar power
cannot be relied upon to completely replace conventional
fossil-fuel engines. It can only supplement the power
generated by the engine and subsequently reduce CO2
emissions1. Buses and cars have been retro-fitted with
solar panels on the roofs, hoods as well as the boot lids.
The Adelaide City Council has introduced all-electric
buses, with batteries being charged by solar panels
mounted on top of the charging stations. Its operating
cost is found to be less than conventional diesel powered
buses2. Since the hybrid automobiles with solar technology
have been realized, it would be logical to extend this
idea to train coaches. The train coaches have a large roof
area available for generation of energy using solar photovoltaic
(PV) modules. The energy generated from this
scheme in excess of the requirement in the coaches can
be stored in batteries and used to supply electrical lighting
loads even during night, thereby reducing the fossilfuel
consumption. Prototype experimental airplanes have
been made to fly on stored solar energy during the night3.
The coaching stock of Indian Railways includes three
versions, namely ICF (Integral Coach Factory), RCF
(Rail Coach Factory) and LHB (Linke Hofman Busch,
Germany)4. The LHB coaches have a longer span-length
to accommodate higher number of passengers and provide
superior travelling comfort. They are also suitable
for higher running speeds compared to ICF and RCF
coaches. Hence, all the ICF and RCF coaches across the
country will be replaced by LHB coaches in the near
future. Therefore, the LHB coaches would be the focus of
this work. These coaches are not self-generating (alternators
driven by the moving wheels and axles), but have
power cars which provide the required power for the electrical
load in the coaches5. In this study, the power that
can be harnessed on the train rooftop using solar PV
modules is computed in order to conserve the consumption
of fuel (diesel). The feasibility of installing solar PV
modules of suitable characteristics to supplement the present
power generation system is reported. A train that
consists of 5 A/C coaches, 13 non-A/C coaches, a pantry
car and two power cars, one at each end, is termed as a
train-set (commonly referred to as rake) and this train-set
has been considered for calculations in the present study.
Though the study is carried out considering Indian subcontinent,
the findings hold good for any location in the world with similar solar radiation.
Across India, the global horizontal irradiance (GHI) is
high all through the year, with May having the highest
GHI of 6.8 kWh/m2 and the lowest of 4.2 kWh/m2 in
December . There are over 11,000 trains on
tracks plying between 6900 railway stations in India
every day. This indicates the amount of energy that can
be generated during the day on top of the coaches of
trains during all seasons. Having this scheme implemented
in all the trains would result in considerable fuel
savings as well as reduction of CO2 emissions.

Attached Pic:
SCHEMATIC VIEW OF ALSTOM COACH OF SHATABDI