Worried by the rising fuel bill, Indian Railways has now started attempts to convert the conventional diesel engine into a dual fuel engine using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). With consumption of two million kilolitres of diesel every year, Railways is banking heavily on the experiment with CNG.
The Railways has already started using bio-diesel to cut down on the spiralling fuel bill. In fact, it has decided to set up four bio-diesel plants across the country on its surplus land to manufacture and supply bio-diesel to trains. Now, in its pursuit to control consumption of diesel, it is experimenting with CNG.
CNG is used a fuel by trains in many countries, including the US, Japan and Malaysia.
The Railways is looking at both ignition and fumigation technologies for conversion to CNG.
While the ignition technology allows using maximum of 30 % CNG along with diesel, the fumigation technique can ensure that the green gas can be used upto 90 %, entailing a huge saving for railways.
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