Title - Soon, train coaches may be lit by sun

The next time you plug your mobile charger into a socket on a train, it might be powered by solar energy. With two solar-powered coaches on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar narrow gauge line set to complete a successful trial run of a year this July, a proposal has been mooted for the experiment to be extended to all coaches on narrow gauge trains in Northern Railway.The roofs of the coaches are equipped with solar panels. One was developed at Pathankot and the other at Kalka. Fans, lights and electrical points for charging mobiles or laptops on these coaches run on solar energy.Apart from a weekly wipe, the solar panels require no maintenance, say officials.“These panels save a lot of electricity,” says Ravi Kumar, SS (Electrical), at Pathankot railway station.Officials say that once the panels are fully charged, they can run equipment for three days even if there is no sunlight as there is a back-up battery. What has helped during the trial is the relatively mild weather on the Jalandhar-Pathankot route, on which trains need no air-conditioning.At the same time, falling mud and stones in hilly areas can damage the panels.Senior railway officials on a visit to Pathankot railway station last year first mooted the idea. A small team along with Kumar worked on preparing the trial coach at Pathankot.

As many as 18 solar panels are installed on each of the coaches.

These have been fixed in such a manner that travel over long distances doesn’t dislodge them. “The cost of developing such a coach is around Rs 4 lakh,” said an official at the workshop.