In a bid to adopt green technology, the Indian Railways is giving a big push to renewable energy to attain cost efficiency, Minister Suresh Prabhu has said. “The Railway Ministry is giving a big push to use renewable energy, electrification for ensuring sustainability and cost efficiency,” Railway Minister Prabhu said during a roundtable discussion with the external stakeholders of the railways. Prabhu observed that managing the Railways’ operations while being environmentally sustainable remained a “challenge”. Prabhu said, “The Railways is working on mainstreaming sustainability in our strategy. Having set up a separate directorate for environment, it is no more a peripheral activity, and now integrated with and complements the core activity.” The minister added, “Land use optimisation, afforestation, water bodies restoration and cleanliness are just some of the activities that the Railways are working on to ensure sustainability,” he said.
