Aiming to achieve net zero emission in railways by 2030: PM Modi

New Delhi: The government aims to achieve net zero emission in rail operations by 2030, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday.

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 78th Independence Day, he highlighted his government's efforts towards environment protection in various fields with a focus on rail operations.

"We are aiming to achieve net zero emission by 2030 in Railways," said the prime minister.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a written statement in the Lok Sabha recently, provided details of his ministry's initiatives to achieve the 'Net Zero Carbon Emission by 2030' target.

According to Vaishnaw, Indian Railways is working on the target with a multi-pronged approach of a shift from diesel to electric traction, procurement of renewable energy and implementation of energy efficiency measures.

These efforts are "expected to give a fillip to renewable energy technology in the country and will also result in reduced dependence of the Indian Railways on imported fuel such as diesel, coal etc," he said on July 24 while answering questions raised by BJP MP Bhola Singh.

To Singh's question "whether the government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Agency for International Development/India (USAID/India) for supporting Indian Railways to achieve Mission Net Zero Carbon Emission by 2030”, Vaishnaw said, "To keep abreast with others in these areas, IR (Indian Railways) enters into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with various countries." "On similar lines, an MoU was signed between IR, Government of India and United States Agency for International Development/India (USAID/India) on 14th June, 2023," he had added.

According to Vaishnaw, the MoU, inter-alia, includes different areas of cooperation such as long-term clean energy planning and procurement; development of energy efficiency policy; technical support for addressing regulatory and implementation barriers; and capacity building programmes.

"The scope of the USAID MoU is in line with the already planned and ongoing works of deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures over IR. This MoU is effective for a period of five years or until the effective end of the South Asia Regional Energy Partnership (SAREP) program of USAID/India," the railway minister had said.

In response to another question in Rajya Sabha on July 26 about the development of environment-friendly fuel for railway operation, Vaishnaw said, "Indian Railways Organization for Alternate Fuel (IROAF) formed to explore alternate fuel in Indian Railways. It has promoted the use of blended bio-diesel and partial substitution of diesel with CNG and LNG for traction purposes." "A pilot project for retro-fitment of hydrogen fuel cell on Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) rake for traction purpose has also been taken up. Twenty-six diesel power cars of DEMU rakes have been converted with CNG-based propulsion system," he had added.