State-owned natural gas transmission utility GAIL (India) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Railways to create infrastructure for supplying natural gas to the transporter’s workshops, production units, depots and residential colonies. “This MoU is a broad-based in principle agreement between GAIL and Indian Railways for creation of infrastructure and supply of compressed natural gas (CNG), piped natural gas (PNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for both industrial and domestic purposes,” Indian Railways said in a statement.
It added that out of 54 workshops and production units, 23 workshops had been identified in the first phase for replacement of industrial gases with natural gas.The transporter said the agreement would help replace industrial gases — dissolved acetylene, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), bharat metal cutting gas (BMCG), furnace oil and high speed diesel (HSD) — with natural gas.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohaniand GAIL Chairman and Managing Director B C Tripathi. Lohani said the workshops would start using natural gas by 31 December 2018, adding the remaining workshops, PUs, railway establishments and Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation’s base kitchens would start using gas by 30 June 2019.
Railways said that natural gas has the potential to replace about 8,44,027 cubic meter of acetylene, 2,35,4425 kg of LPG, 1,40,991 kg of BMCG and 5,500 kl of HSD or furnace oil worth Rs 70 crore per annum, saving the transporter about Rs 20 crore per annum.