RailEnquiry

Aimed at conserving energy, the Delhi Division of Northern Railways is installing automated lighting systems at some of the stations in the division.

With the new system, 70 per cent lights at platforms will go out after the departure of trains and with approaching trains the lights will come on automatically.

“The system has been implemented at few stations and it would be extended to other stations. The system helps in saving almost 50 per cent of energy,” said Anurag Sachan, divisional railway manager Anurag Sachan.

The mechanism has already been installed on an experimental basis at one platform each of Nizamuddin, Faridabad and Meerut railway stations.

It is connected with the home signals of the platforms which makes it possible for the lights to go off and come on automatically with the departure and arrival of trains, respectively.

The daily average power consumption of platform number one at Nizamuddin station is around 7 to 8 kv. With the new system in place, the requirement is only around 4 kv, a senior railway official said.

The officials said the conservation arrangement has several other features and is more likely to be successful at stations where not many trains stop.

“One of the feature of the system, which is connected to the signalling system, allows it to keep the lights off when any particular train, which is not scheduled to stop at the station, approaches the platform,” a railway officials said.

It also function according to the weather of the place. “If it becomes very cloudy during the day, at least 30 per cent of the lights at the station would be on,” the official added.

The average cost of installing the energy conservation system at one platform is Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000.

Depending on the availibility of funds the energy saving mechanism would be extended to other stations, an official said.