VIJAYAWADA: The South Central Railway (SCR) has become the first 100% LED (Light Emitting Diode) lit zone of the Indian Railways, achieving the milestone by June 20 well before the target date of June 30 set by Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. In a press release issued here on Thursday, the SCR said that it had achieved the distinction by installing 1,64,291 LED bulbs in place conventional ones in 23,740 railway residential quarters in the zone. This is expected to result in saving of 35.4 lakh units of electrical energy and reduction of power bill to the tune of Rs 3 crore per annum apart from cut in carbon emission by 3,187 tonnes per year.
Earlier, SCR has provided 1, 35, 417 LED lamps at 733 railway stations and 1424 service buildings by March 2018, which also was a first amongst all zones. The commissioning of LED lighting at all residential quarters in the zone has helped the SCR reach the target.
The cumulative impact of total LED lighting on SCR is saving of 82 lakh units of power and reduction in the power bill to the tune of `7 core per annum in the zone. The impact of carbon emission on SCR on account of this initiative will be cumulatively reduced by 7372 tonnes per year, sizably contributing to a greener environment.
Meanwhile, to ensure safety of passengers and hassle-free travel, the SCR has introduced the concept of ‘Train Captain’ as overall leader and in-charge of all on-board railway personnel and outsourced staff of long distance Mail / Express trains from Thursday. Ratnachal Express (Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam) will be one among the trains that will be manned by ‘Train Captain’.