Railways Test Running Engines With Bio-Fuel

In an attempt to counter the ever growing fossil fuel prices the Indian Railways has for the first time on its South East Central Railway (SECR) sector started using a mix of diesel and jatropha, bio-fuel made from the jatropha shrub, to run some of its trains.
 
 Railways, now, annually spends more than Rs 4,000 crore on their diesel requirements, and after the recent hikes in prices of diesel, have started to think of alternative fuels to reduce this cost burden.
 
 According to Raipur railway division spokesperson Ajay Kumar Jaiswal, the Railways plan to totally replace diesel imported from the Gulf and hence SECR is using fuel from the home-grown jatropha for narrow gauge railway engines.
 
 The SECR bought 800 litres of jatropha bio-fuel from the Chhattisgarh government this month and has been using five percent jatropha fuel with diesel as an experiment.
 
 Jatropha is an environment-friendly oilseed plant, which is used to produce bio-diesel. The Railways has successfully experimented running locomotives using jatropha-oil blended diesel.
 Jatropha is a renewable resource. Emissions can be 60 % to 100% lower than with diesel, and particulate matter 60 per cent less. Harmful constituents such as sulphur are not present at all.

 The jatropha-diesel engines are running mainly on the narrow gauge Raipur-Rajim and Raipur-Dhamtari lines. After a month, it will be tried on long distance trains as well.
 
 The Chhattisgarh government, which is promoting jatropha plantations in all 16 districts, has set up a jatropha bio-fuel plant near Raipur. The bio-fuel sells at Rs.28 per litre, at least Rs.10 less than traditional imported diesel.