Natural Gas on TRACK – Say hello to a better Tomorrow

Natural Gas has been used to fuel vehicles since the 1930s. Today there are more than a million NGVs in India and the numbers are bound to increase. Leading companies such as Ford, Toyota, Mercedes and Audi are coming up with Natural Gas powered vehicles everyday.

Here is an example of how Audi came out with a car fueled by Natural Gas

Even the Buses today on the roads of India are transformed from what they used to be. The post below depicts how Delhi introduced the first CNG Hybrid bus years back.

Natural Gas has also taken over in the Airlines sector. As a clean fuel, Natural Gas also turns out to be more economical. The post attached shows the same

However, moving a step forward, the India Research Design & Standard Organization (RDSO), a research wing of the ministry of railways based at Lucknow, has started developing a prototype of Trains based on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Although the idea is not new and versions of Natural Gas locomotives have been tried and tested in different countries over time, including those run on propane, there has not been a remarkable shift towards the same.

With the success of this prototype, India will make the switch. The technology will benefit the Indian Railways as well as our citizens in the following ways:

1. Being a cheaper alternative, it will bring down operating costs (by 50%) and this will affect the spend on transport by its consumers.
2. Environmentally, It will make the nation healthier and the future greener with lower emissions
3. India has abundant resources of LNG for now and is also working on Importing quantities for the future and LNG terminals in India are on their way to being set-up on the east and west coasts
4. Running on Natural Gas would amount to only 2.2 per cent of India’s annual natural gas consumption of 81 million tons and therefore be commercially feasible
5. The trains would need lesser refueling compared to Diesel trains

Natural gas is definitely proving to be a promising fuel and it is visibly clear that not only will it help the environment but also the economy and directly or indirectly the people of our country. After all a stronger economy is the result of its powerful citizens. With Natural Gas, Tomorrow is Yours!!