The Railways has started getting biodiesel at ₹7 cheaper than petrol diesel at Hyderabad, which will be subsequently blended for use in locomotives.

Simultaneously, they are also trying to get solar power at cheaper rates. The Railways' energy bill is about ₹30,000 — of which ₹18,000 crore is for diesel and ₹12,000 crore for electricity.

“We have plans to conserve both sources of energy. To lower the diesel bill, we are opting for fuel efficient locomotives. On electric energy, our Minister has asked us to work towards lowering basic cost of electricity itself by ₹2 a unit from the current level, which we will do over a period of time. We pay about ₹7 a unit now,” said AK Mital, Chairman, Railway Board.

In the present Budget, we have not increased allocation on account of energy, even though we will move 7-8 per cent more traffic.

“We are doing an energy audit, which we will share as soon as it is complete,” said Suresh Prabhu, Ministry of Railways.

“As far as solar energy is concerned, it was earlier available at more expensive levels than commercial fuel. Now we are getting it almost at equal levels. We intend to procure it at ₹5.50 a unit in some agreements,” said Mital.

“The biodiesel will have to be blended up to 5 per cent in Hyderabad depot,” said Hemant Kumar, Member, Mechanical, Railway Board.

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