New Delhi (NVI): The Central Railway in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Tata Power have launched electric vehicle (EV) charging points at railway stations in Mumbai.
In a official statement, UNEP said that, the charging points are being launched under the novel green initiative which will promote e-mobility in Mumbai.
Under this initiative, charging points for EVs will be made available at all important railway stations in the city, the suburbs and adjoining Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the statement said.
The charging points will cover a wide geographical area and offer a seamless experience for electric vehicle (EV) owners to charge their vehicles through a pay-per-use model.
Moreover, the collaborative aims to boost the overall e-mobility sector and encourage green mobility around railway stations, which are transport modal hubs.
The organization also stated that, in the first phase, contracts have already been awarded for Railway Stations including Thane, Dadar, Parel and Byculla. For the second phase, tenders have been floated for the next set of stations including Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Bhandup, Panvel and Kalyan.
The areas at the entry-exit points of railway stations with parking facilities have been earmarked for the charging stations as per availability.
Head of UNEP’s India Office, Atul Bagai said, “A transition to e-mobility is one of the best solutions for combatting the challenges of air pollution and the climate crises with electrification being a flexible, energy efficient and sustainable way to decarbonize the economy.”
“India is taking a step in the right direction towards achieving a cleaner transport sector through this tri-party initiative. We are proud to be working closely with Central Railway and Tata Power to leverage cleaner energy sources and nudge India towards adopting them more widely,” he added.
“An EV charging station has been installed at Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CMT) in partnership with TATA Power and UNEP, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of the Central Railway of Mumbai, Robin Kalia, said.
“We plan to extrapolate this model for installing EV charging stations at all major Railway Stations under Mumbai division. This endeavour owes its successful implementation to the strategic leadership of Shalabh Goel, Divisional Railway Manager,” he added.
According to the UNEP statement, the expansion of charging points will augment Tata Power’s network of 300 already in place in 40 different cities.
It added that, “E-mobility is important for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.” At present, transport contributes to approximately one-quarter of all energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, and is set to reach one-third, growing faster than any other sector.
The transport sector accounts for 18 per cent total energy consumption in India and contributes an estimated 142 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, out of which 123 million tonnes is contributed by the road transport segment alone.
UNEP supports the shift to electric mobility worldwide and is implementing a global programme to support countries with the shift to electric mobility.
Furthermore, the programme supports more than 60 country projects, including India, where upcoming projects include the electrification of India’s government car fleet with the support of the Global Environment Facility, the UNEP statement added.
-RJV
