Railways installs 1,000-unit solar power system

System will produce 400,000 to 500,000 units per annum; surplus will be given to LESCO

LAHORE: Pakistan Railways has successfully installed a 1,000-unit solar power system at its headquarters to make all its working areas free of load-shedding.

Pakistan Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique inaugurated the system on Friday, and felicitated Railways CEO Javed Anwar, AGM Mechanical M Ansarullah Khan, Chief Electrical Engineer Ambreen Zaman and the administration on the successful generation of 1,000 units from the system.



Speaking on the occasion, he said that all four workshops of the railways, washing line, railway station, headquarters building, divisional office, loco-shed, and Karen Hospital had been made free of load-shedding.

The minister said that the solar system installed at the Karen Hospital and headquarters would not only produce 400,000 to 500,000 units per annum for the railways but these systems would also generate extra power for the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) on Sundays and other holidays.

Rafique said that installation of two diesel generators of one-megawatt each were also important in freeing the working areas of the railways from load-shedding.

He said that earlier work had to suffer due to power outages, which cost Rs2 million per hour. He revealed that the Pakistan Railways Electrical Department had prepared a proposal for 100 railway stations and all divisional headquarters to be shifted to solar power.

"There was a time when the electricity connections of workshops were being cut, but now all workshops are working day and night."

Hopper wagons imported from China were now being assembled in the Railways' workshops and work on overhauling of locomotives besides upgrade of passenger trains was also in progress, the minister added.

Now that power outages were no longer an issue, Railways will be able to increase its performance and play a better role in national prosperity and progress, the minister hoped.



"Now the central control room of the railways will be able to work without any break or difficulty, which will be helpful in better monitoring trains besides reducing accidents."

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2017.

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