MALIGAON, August 2 (MExN): The Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) has fitted Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) in 94 out of 399 diesel locomotives in the zone to saving diesel fuel consumption, the NFR informed on Sunday.
The initiative is a part of the efforts taken by the Indian Railways, which is one of the biggest consumers of diesel, to cut down the use of fossil fuels, according to a statement from the NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer.
This is expected not only to cut down the train operation cost but also the foreign exchange of the country which is needed to import fossil fuel and reduce air pollution as well, it said.
Normally a diesel engine consumes about 25 ltrs of diesel per hour during idling condition i.e. when the train is not moving. But with the use of APU the idling consumption gets reduced by 1/10 to just 2.5 ltrs per hour. Thus huge quantity of diesel oil can be saved, the release stated.
APU is a self contained system with its own small diesel engine coupled to low capacity compressor and alternator to maintain the main reservoir pressure, battery charging, operate HVAC system in driver’s cabin and other small loads as per requirement. The main engine gets started only when it is actually required for movement.
According to the NFR, the central control system of the locomotive continuously monitors the battery status, engine temperature, idling status etc. If the engine idling time is more than 10 minutes, the system automatically shuts down the main engine and run the APU engine, the statement informed.
When the APU engine is in operation, the system continuously monitors the critical parameters and ensures that they are within limits. If any of the monitored parameters are deviated from the limits, main engine starts automatically by stopping the APU engine, it said.
It further informed that NFR trains have already started running by using HOG technology where the diesel generators of LHB rakes are kept in shut down condition during their journey in the electrified area to save fossil fuel.
