The first Railway Budget of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government has proposed to harness solar energy to make the Railways more energy efficient.
Presenting the budget, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Minister of Railways, said the proposal seeks to utilize roof top spaces of railway stations, other railway buildings and land. The project will be carried out through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) method.
The Budget also proposes the use of bio diesel to meet up to 5 percent of the total fuel consumption in diesel locomotives. One of the key reasons for rail fare hike is the rising price of fossil fuels.
India is seeking to be energy efficient through the use of alternate energy sources like solar, wind and biofuel.
Another area of focus of the Railway Budget is the improvements of toilets. The Budget proposes to increase the number of bio-toilets in a good number of trains in order to mitigate the problem of direct discharge of human waste on the tracks and platform aprons at stations.