Distribution of free LED Tube lights for Railway Staff in Salem East Railway Colony by Salem Division, Southern Railway

The Ministry of Railways is taking various steps towards conservation of electric energy by usage of energy efficient electric gadgets and also generation of electricity through renewable energy sources such as wind mills, solar panels, etc., with a view to make the Railways greener and reduce carbon footprint.

Salem Division, on its part, taking up the cause of energy conservation by creation of awareness among its staff and rail users, regularly. As a giant leap towards that goal, Salem Division has started distribution of free LED Tube lights to the railway staff residing in railway colonies all over the Division. Already, distribution of such tube lights was done for railway staff in colonies at Podanur (700 Tubes to 350 houses), Coimbatore (370 Tubes to 185 houses) and Karur (380 tubes to 190 houses) at the rate of 2 tube lights per household.

Today (13.12.2017), the distribution of 800 tube lights was started for 400 houses in Salem Railway Colonies, in the presence of Sri M. Govindan, Divisional Secretary of SRMU, Salem other railway officials and staff. These 18 watts LED tube lights will replace the existing conventional 52 W tube lights, resulting in a saving of 68 watts of electricity per household. Thus, in Salem alone, these LED tube lights will result in an average saving of whopping 27,200 watts of electricity overall.

Already, Solar power is being extensively tapped by the Electrical branch of Salem Division by fitment of Solar Panels in various places, such as Salem (3.25 kW),   Tiruppur (2.88 kW), Mettuppalayam (10 kW), and small Solar Plants of 1.5 kW capacity in 6 railway stations in Salem-Vridhachalam Section such as Chinna Salem, Athur, Salem Town, Mukasaparur, etc.,  Solar powered water pumps installed in Perugumani Station in Karur-Trichy Fort Section. Solar water heaters have been provided in all major stations such as Coimbatore, Karur, Salem, Tiruppur, Erode, etc., Solar panel fitted passenger coach has been attached in Coimbatore-Mayavaram Jan Shatabdi Express and 6 more coaches are planned to be fitted with solar panels at a cost of Rs.20 lakhs.  This initiative was ushered in by Sri Hari Shankar Verma, DRM, Salem, with a view to make the Salem Division an energy efficient one. He  congratulated Sri Naseer Ahamed, Sr. Divisional Electrical Engineer, and his team of officers and staff for taking up effective steps in this direction.