CB BureauIndian Railways has signed a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to tap into the potential of liquefied
natural gas (LNG) in locomotives, workshops, and factories. This will help
Indian Railways to reduce diesel consumption, cut down on CO2, and make
significant operational savings.
According to a railway official, Indian
Railways is currently using more than 250 crore litres of diesel annually,
costing about Rs 10,000 crore. Once the transition to LNG materializes, Indian
Railways can expect to save Rs 1,000 crore every year. The implementation of
LNG is expected to unfold in phases, starting with industrial uses in
factories, to usage in diesel multiple units, and then in mainline diesel
locomotives.
Previously, the storage needed for LNG and
its transportation difficulties as well as the expenses involved meant that the
use of LNG could not ‘take off in areas far from the western coast’. The fuel
must be delivered to the end user through a cold chain of cryogenic tanks and
storages and special cryogenic road tankers. As the cryogenic cold chain has
become more affordable, LNG can be used on a large scale.
The company has already started using
compressed natural gas (CNG) in its fleet of multiple diesel units and
introduced bio diesel in the sector. It has set up two bio diesel
etherification plants, each with a capacity of 30 tonnes per day.