Indian Railways’ ‘net-zero’ goals hinge on electrification, solar, storage
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address at the COP26 conference has once again brought the focus on the Indian Railway’s quest to become a net-zero carbon emitter.
“Passengers numbering more than the entire population of the world travel by Indian Railways every year. This huge railway system has set itself a target of making itself ‘net zero’ by 2030. This initiative alone will lead to a reduction of 60 million tonnes of emissions annually,” PM Modi said at the COP26 conference.
This goal was spelled out by then Rail Minister Piyush Goyal in July 2020 as he rolled out plans to deploy solar power generation facilities at vacant railway land. The aim then was in line with India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) targets as per the COP23 commitments.
