The cost of the painting is estimated at Rs 1 lakh per trainer, said an official. (Representative)
New Delhi:
Non-air-conditioned Covid Care isolation buses will soon receive a sun-reflective coating, which would lower the interior temperature by 5 to 6 degrees Celsius, if a railroad test of 100 of these buses is successful.
The move comes amid concerns raised by Niti Aayog about the heat inside these coaches during peak summers when temperatures rise above 40 degrees in parts of the country.
According to an opinion from the Ministry of Health on these coaches, around 5,200 of them have been reserved for Covid care in 215 train stations across the country.
The railways have now ordered a test to paint the roofs of 100 of the converted cars over the north and center-north railways to standards prescribed by The Research Designs & Standards Organization (RDSO), said at PTI a senior railway official.
“The test should be completed by June of this year and once we are able to reduce the temperature by at least 5-6 degrees Celsius, we can then increase it. The problem is that if we don’t can not lower the temperature substantially, so there is no point in investing money and resources in this area, “said the official involved in the process.
The cost of painting is estimated at Rs 1 lakh per coach, including the cost of painting and labor, said a second official.
Officials said that if the test is successful, the idea can be used on 5,000 modified cars and also on non-air conditioned cars.
They stated that the railways use a “solution made in India” developed by IIT-Mumbai and that the aim is to reduce the temperature from 45 degrees to around 39 degrees. The solution can reduce the ambient temperature by 15% and also act as a flame retardant.
“RDSO has been asked to develop a test scheme with locations for the measurements to be taken. This paint should lower the temperature by 5 to 6 degrees. This is a good time to conduct the test as the temperatures are high and the measures can be effective, “said the chief official.
Earlier, a test was conducted on approximately 100 coaches from Humsafar Express, Jan Shatabdi Express, Antyodaya Express using another Make-in-India product, 3M Scotchkote Polytech Exp RG700, which is a solar reflective coating that reduces heat to inside any enclosure and can be applied to a variety of metallic and non-metallic substrates, officials said.
In a statement, 3M India said its solution resulted in energy savings of more than 20% and could significantly contribute to passenger comfort.
“It is estimated that if applied to more than 15,000 coaches on India’s large rail network, this solution can save up to 162,000 MW of electricity, which translates into a reduction in the amount of CO2 emitted from close up. of 132,000 tonnes per year. This could potentially save approximately USD 15 million per year in energy costs or reducing it by 17%, “the company said.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
