Indian Railways, on Monday, took the first stride towards framing emission standards for long-haul diesel locomotives and diesel power cars plying along suburban routes on its system with the commissioning of an Emission Test Car (ETC) at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) here.

The ETC, said to be the world's first mobile emission testing vehicle in the rail sector, will put the Indian Railways on a par with global rail systems in terms of green milestones and also pave the way for the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) to lay down standards and monitor locomotives for compliance with emission norms.

The ETC which uses mass emission measurement equipment supplied by Horiba from Japan will test locos for oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter, total hydrocarbons, methane hydrocarbons, smoke opacity, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The ETC can be deployed at any diesel shed across the 17 zones of the Railways.

Sanjiv Handa, Member (Mechanical), Railway Board, who commissioned the ETC also launched the phase I of the Enterprise Resource Planning initiatives in Indian Railways.......Read More

Source: The Hindu