Western Railway has always encouraged greener technology in various ways, be its efforts through Push-Pull project or installation of solar panels to save energy and conserve environment. Continuing with these efforts, Western Railway has recently commissioned two Automatic Coach Washing Plants (ACWP) at Bandra Terminus Coaching Depot and Gandhidham Coaching Depot. The plant helps in minimizing time, water and man power to complete the washing process of entire train effectively. Due to the automation and efficiency of these plants, it is expected that this will lead to savings of approx. Rs.50 lakhs per year in external washing cost for the depots.
According to a press release issued by Sumit Thakur – Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, the ACWP at Bandra Terminus Coaching Depot & Gandhidham Coaching Depot have automatic tracking of train movement and washing speed of 5-8 kmph. It requires maximum 60 ltr per coach of fresh water, which is 80% less as compared to manual washing. The fresh water intake of the plant is only 20% and 80% of water used for washing is recycled in each washing cycle. The plants are extremely efficient in utilization of time & water since the end-to-end cycle time for cleaning a 24-coach train is merely 10 minutes. The Automatic Coach Washing Plant is an environment friendly and cost- effective option and a great step towards automation in train maintenance.
