Monday, May 23, 2022

Lingampalli station goes solar

By Sunny Baski

Published: Published Date - 12:02 AM, Thu - 5 November 20

Solar panels installed at Lingampalli railway station. SCR has installed panels with a capacity of 55 kWp which is expected to save 72,000 units per annum

Hyderabad: One of the fast developing railway stations in Hyderabad, catering to the rail transport needs of the western parts of the city, the Lingampalli Railway Station has now become an ecofriendly station with the installation of solar panels to power it up.

The South Central Railway (SCR) installed solar panels in Lingampalli railway station with a capacity of 55 kWp. These are expected to result in savings of 72,000 units per annum. Already, LED lights are being used in the station and now the solar panels are making it a much more energy efficient station, officials said.

The Lingampalli station is the fourth busiest railway station in the city after Secunderabad, Kacheguda and Hyderabad. The expansion of the city encompassing its suburbs along with the Gachibowli-BHEL-Patancheru region into its fold has resulted in rapid growth of the Lingampally station as well.

The SCR is taking initiatives at Lingampalli to decongest the Secunderabad Railway Station. This apart, with the suburbs developing and more passengers boarding MMTS trains from Lingampalli, infrastructure is being developed in this station. Recognising the importance of the station, several long distance trains are departing from here. The railway station used to have a patronage of over 30,000 passengers a day before the lockdown with over 50 express and passenger trains passing through or originating from the station.

Apart from Lingampalli, solar panels were already installed in Secunderabad, Kacheguda stations and Hyderabad. In Secunderabad, solar panels have a capacity of 500 kWp, which is the highest in the zone, followed by Kacheguda (400 kWp) and Hyderabad (227 kWp). According to officials, around 25 railway stations were provided with solar power in the State. In Telangana region, there is a savings of Rs.1.50 crore per annum through solar panels.

On solar panels alone, the SCR has been saving nearly 80 lakh energy units which convert into a sum of over Rs 4 crore. A total of 6.5 MWP solar power plants/panels have been installed at the stations, service buildings, pumps and street lights in the zone. From 2014, the railways is making efforts to tap renewable energy sources like solar power, day light pipes and LED lighting and plans are afoot to extend solar panels to more stations where power consumption is more, officials said.

SCR has also provided solar water heaters at service buildings, officers’ rest house, institutes, running rooms and retiring rooms with about 136 solar water heaters in Telangana having a combined capacity of 2,15,300 litres per day. SCR was the first 100 per cent LED lit zone on the Indian Railways as well.