NEW DELHI: There will be over four lakh berths available to passengers on a daily basis from October onwards as the railways have decided to use power from overhead cables rather than power cars. Head on Generation (HOG) is the technology that is used across the world and through this technology power is tapped from overhead power cables and distributed within the trains.
The new eco-friendly system with no air or noise pollution is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 700 MT per year per train. “In regular practice, two power cars equipped with Diesel Alternator sets are placed at either end of the rake run in, for example, every Shatabdi Express. After we move to the HOG system, there is need of only one power car for standby purpose only,” said an official.
“Another power car can be removed and replaced with an extra passenger coach without increasing the train length. Once all LHB coaches are on this system, we have calculated an increase of more than four lakh berths every day and thus additional revenue as well,” the official added.