Green Railways — Set 2

Correct Answer: A. Bhubaneswar

• **Bhubaneswar** = the location of Indian Railways' first Waste-to-Energy plant, set up at the Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop (East Coast Railway), which uses Polycrack technology to thermally process non-recyclable plastic waste and e-waste into light diesel oil, gas, and carbon black. • **Polycrack process** — developed by Hydrofuel Canada and adapted in India, this technology uses no water and no catalyst, operates at atmospheric pressure, and can convert 1 kg of mixed plastic into roughly 800 ml of light diesel equivalent fuel. • The gas and diesel output from this plant powers the workshop's own machinery, making the workshop partially self-sufficient in energy and drastically reducing the volume of plastic waste sent to landfills. • 💡 Option B (New Delhi) is wrong because the Delhi division's green initiatives focus on solar panels and energy-efficient lighting rather than waste-to-energy conversion plants of this type; Option C (Mysuru) is wrong because Mysuru is known for its aesthetically maintained station, not for this industrial waste processing technology; Option D (Jaipur) is wrong because Jaipur's railway infrastructure developments have concentrated on passenger amenities and electrification, not Polycrack-based waste conversion.

Correct Answer: C. LED lights

• **LED lights** = Light Emitting Diode lamps that convert electricity to light with up to 80% greater efficiency than incandescent or fluorescent alternatives, consuming 8–10 watts to produce the same luminance as a 60-watt incandescent bulb, and lasting 25,000–50,000 hours compared to 1,000–2,000 hours for conventional bulbs. • **Scale of transition** — Indian Railways replaced over 90 lakh (9 million) conventional lights with LEDs across stations, offices, and coaches under its Mission 41K (targeting savings of ₹41,000 crore in energy costs), saving approximately 2,700 million kWh per year. • LED adoption in coaches also reduces heat generation inside compartments, lowering the load on air-conditioning systems and providing compounding energy savings. • 💡 Option A (Mercury bulbs) is wrong because mercury vapour lamps are energy-intensive, contain hazardous mercury requiring special disposal, and have already been phased out in India under environmental regulations; Option B (Halogen lamps) is wrong because halogens produce large amounts of heat, are inefficient, and have a short lifespan, making them unsuitable for energy-saving initiatives; Option D (Neon tubes) is wrong because neon lighting is used only for decorative signage, not for general illumination in coaches or station interiors.

Correct Answer: D. Energy recovery during braking

• **Energy recovery during braking** = in regenerative braking, the traction motors of an electric locomotive are switched to generator mode when the driver applies brakes; the kinetic energy of the decelerating train spins the motors and produces electricity that is fed back into the overhead catenary wire for use by other trains on the same 25 kV section. • **Efficiency gain** — Indian Railways' WAP-5 and WAP-7 locomotives equipped with regenerative braking recover 15–20% of the energy consumed during a journey; on hilly routes like the ghat sections of South-Central Railway, recovery can reach 30%. • Regenerative braking also reduces wear on mechanical brake pads, lowering maintenance costs and the risk of brake overheating on long descents. • 💡 Option A (Self-repairing brakes) is wrong because no current railway technology enables mechanical self-repair; the word 'regenerative' refers to energy regeneration, not material regeneration; Option B (Hydraulic cooling) is wrong because hydraulic braking uses fluid pressure to slow wheels and dissipates energy as heat rather than recovering it; Option C (Magnetic track cleaning) is wrong because magnetic track cleaners are separate devices that remove ferrous debris from rails and have nothing to do with braking energy.

Correct Answer: A. Haryana

• **Haryana** = the first Indian state to have 100% of its railway route-km on the broad-gauge network electrified, a milestone announced in early 2023 covering all lines passing through the state including the Rewari–Hisar–Jakhal and Ambala–Kalka sections. • **State-level significance** — Haryana's complete electrification was possible partly because it has no hilly or difficult terrain sections; its dense industrial freight corridors now benefit from cheaper electric traction instead of diesel. • 100% state-level electrification means no diesel locomotive needs to be assigned for any train originating, terminating, or passing through the state, eliminating local air pollutant emissions from locomotives entirely. • 💡 Option B (Punjab) is wrong because Punjab, while largely electrified on its main lines, still had some branch-line electrification pending at the time Haryana achieved full completion; Option C (Kerala) is wrong because Kerala's hilly Western Ghats terrain made full electrification more challenging, and it achieved the milestone later than Haryana; Option D (Odisha) is wrong because Odisha has extensive mineral-freight routes with electrification work that was still progressing in 2023.

Correct Answer: C. Kulhads (Clay cups)

• **Kulhads (Clay cups)** = traditional unglazed earthen cups made by potters on a wheel, which are 100% biodegradable and decompose naturally within weeks, making them an eco-friendly replacement for single-use plastic or thermocol cups that take hundreds of years to degrade. • **Scale of deployment** — Indian Railways reintroduced kulhads at major stations in 2019; the Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) partnered with local Self-Help Groups and potters, providing livelihoods to artisans in states like Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. • India's Supreme Court had ordered removal of single-use plastic from railway premises; kulhads directly fulfill this mandate while also supporting traditional crafts that had declined due to cheap plastic alternatives. • 💡 Option A (Paper cups) is wrong because while paper cups reduce plastic, they require trees and water to produce and are often plastic-lined inside, making them not fully biodegradable; Option B (Plastic glasses) is wrong because single-use plastic cups are precisely what this initiative aims to eliminate; Option D (Steel mugs) is wrong because steel mugs are reusable and hygienic but require washing infrastructure at every vendor point, which is impractical for large-scale platform chai sales.

Correct Answer: D. To recharge groundwater

• **To recharge groundwater** = rainwater harvesting systems at stations channel rooftop and platform runoff through percolation pits, recharge wells, or check dams into the aquifer below, replenishing groundwater that is heavily drawn upon for station operations and surrounding communities. • **Water Audit programme** — Indian Railways launched a formal Water Audit initiative in 2017 to measure, reduce, and recycle water consumption; stations receiving audits must install rainwater harvesting as a mandatory measure before upgrades are approved. • Secunderabad, Mysuru, and Bengaluru Cantt stations are examples where rainwater harvesting has made the stations water-positive, meaning they recharge more water into the ground than they consume from borewells. • 💡 Option A (To produce electricity) is wrong because rainwater harvesting is a passive civil engineering measure involving no turbines or generators; hydropower requires large elevation differences and flow rates far beyond what station rooftops can provide; Option B (To prevent track flooding) is wrong because flood prevention uses separate drainage channels and retention basins, not percolation-based harvesting pits; Option C (To cool the engines) is wrong because locomotive cooling systems use treated water from dedicated closed-loop circuits, not harvested rainwater fed from surface collection.

Correct Answer: A. BHEL

• **BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited)** = a Navratna public-sector enterprise under the Ministry of Heavy Industries; it has a formal MoU with Indian Railways to design, supply, and commission utility-scale solar power plants on unused railway land, with output fed directly into the traction overhead supply. • **Land available** — Indian Railways possesses over 43,000 hectares of non-operational land across the country; even converting 1% of this into solar farms at 1 MW per hectare would add 430 MW of dedicated railway solar capacity. • BHEL brings in-house manufacturing of solar panels at its Bengaluru and Bhopal plants, ensuring domestic content compliance and reducing import dependency for this strategic infrastructure. • 💡 Option B (ISRO) is wrong because the Indian Space Research Organisation's role in railways is limited to satellite-based signalling and navigation, not solar energy plant installation; Option C (DRDO) is wrong because the Defence Research and Development Organisation contributed bio-toilet bacteria technology but has no mandate for solar energy deployment on railway land; Option D (Coal India) is wrong because Coal India is a coal extraction company and would represent the opposite of a green energy partnership for railways.

Correct Answer: C. Promoting local eco-friendly crafts

• **Promoting local eco-friendly crafts** = the 'One Station One Product' (OSOP) scheme, launched by Indian Railways in 2022, designates one stall per participating station to exclusively showcase and sell regionally distinctive, often handmade products such as Madhubani paintings (Darbhanga), Khadi fabric (Wardha), and pottery (Khurja), many of which are naturally sustainable. • **Green dimension** — by facilitating a direct-to-passenger market at railway stations, OSOP reduces the need for goods to travel hundreds of kilometres through wholesale chains, cutting the transport carbon footprint and food/craft miles significantly. • The scheme had covered over 1,000 stations by 2023 and benefited tens of thousands of artisans and Self-Help Group members, making it simultaneously an economic and environmental initiative. • 💡 Option A (Standardizing all stations) is wrong because OSOP does the opposite — it celebrates the unique local identity of each station rather than making them uniform; Option B (Selling only one type of ticket) is wrong because ticketing is handled through booking counters and UTS apps entirely separate from the OSOP stall concept; Option D (Using only one color of paint) is wrong because station painting standards are governed by a separate aesthetic beautification policy unrelated to product sales or environmental schemes.

Correct Answer: D. Infrared sensors

• **Infrared sensors** = passive infrared (PIR) or active infrared proximity detectors fitted to taps and flush valves that detect the presence of a user's hands or body and trigger water flow automatically, stopping the moment the user withdraws, eliminating the chronic waste of taps left running. • **Water saving quantified** — sensor-fitted taps reduce water consumption per handwash by approximately 60% compared to manually operated taps; in a busy A1 station with thousands of users daily, this translates to saving lakhs of litres of water per month. • IGBC's Green Railway Stations checklist specifically mandates sensor-operated fixtures as a prerequisite for achieving Gold and Platinum ratings, making infrared sensors a compliance-driven as well as conservation-driven choice. • 💡 Option A (Heat sensors) is wrong because thermistor-based heat sensors detect temperature change, not proximity, and are used in fire detection systems rather than water-saving sanitary fittings; Option B (Pressure sensors) is wrong because pressure transducers measure the weight or force applied to a surface and are used in weighing machines and pipeline monitoring, not in touch-free tap activation; Option C (Sound sensors) is wrong because microphone-based sensors react to noise and would trigger unintentionally from ambient station sounds, making them completely impractical for toilet water control.

Correct Answer: A. Sections where trains use only bio-toilets

• **Sections where trains use only bio-toilets** = a 'Green Corridor' is a designated stretch of railway track on which every passenger train is mandated to have 100% bio-toilet-fitted coaches, ensuring that absolutely no untreated human waste is discharged directly onto the ballast and rails below. • **First Green Corridor** — the Rameswaram–Manamadurai section in Tamil Nadu (about 114 km), declared India's first Green Corridor in 2016, was chosen because Rameswaram is a major pilgrimage destination where track hygiene was a pressing concern. • The Green Corridor concept has since expanded to include the Patna–Gaya route, the Puri–Bhubaneswar section, and several other pilgrimage and tourist routes across India. • 💡 Option B (Tracks with trees on sides) is wrong because afforestation along tracks is a separate greenery drive and does not constitute the technical definition of a Green Corridor in railway terminology; Option C (Routes with only electric trains) is wrong because electric traction corridors are defined by the power supply system, not the bio-toilet fitment standard; Option D (High-speed corridors) is wrong because high-speed corridors refer to dedicated freight or passenger fast-track infrastructure projects like the Mumbai–Ahmedabad bullet train, which is unrelated to waste management.