Rs 50 lakh for solar lighting of 17 stations on heritage track

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, August 5

A sum of about Rs 50 lakh has been approved for the installation of solar lights in 17 railway stations on the world heritage Parwanoo-Shimla rail track.

“The engineering staff has prepared an estimate of about Rs 50 lakh and tenders for the same will be floated after the completion of requisite formalities,” said Dinesh Kumar, Divisional Railways Manager.

Solar lighting will also be used to light up coaches. This will help earn carbon footprints for reducing the use of energy.

Under the project, stations like Taksal, Ghumman, Koti, Sanwara, Dharampur, Kumarhatti, Barog, Solan, Salogra, Kandaghat, Kanoh, Kathleeghat, Shoghi, Taradevi, Jutogh, Summer Hill and Shimla will be covered.

With the recurring expenditure being considerably less, on its introduction, the solar system will also reduce monetary expenditure on the track where the profitability is not high.

As it is a UNESCO certified rail track, the railway authorities have to maintain its ancient architecture with little transformations. The Ministry of Railways has been laying stress on making all railway stations energy efficient and stations which have achieved an exemplary feat in this have also been awarded nationally.

The 96-km Kalka-Shimla track is an engineering marvel comprising 102 tunnels and 864 bridges. Constructed in 1898 by the British to provide connectivity to Shimla, which was their summer capital, it was declared a world heritage track in 2008. The 2 feet 6 inches narrow gauge draws visitors from various foreign countries, especially during the summer, for its scenic beauty.