The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has adopted head on generation (HOG) technology on all Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coach fitted trains.

An NFR official said here on Monday, “The new technology will not only help reduce the power cost for running AC trains but will also help provide a cleaner environment.”

The present LHB coaches have been designed to run on end on generation (EOG) system with two power cars employing two diesel generator sets on either end, the official said.

He said the new HOG technology will replace the existing two generators in the LHB trains.

In this new system, power supply will be tapped from overhead power lines through pantograph to the train engine which will then be distributed to the coaches for air conditioning, lighting, fans and other equipment that runs on the electrical power supply, the official added.

An NFR official said, “As the entire NF Railway section has been sanctioned for railway electrification, the trains of NF Railway with LHB coaches are being modified in various depots and trial runs are also being conducted. There will be better reliability because of reduced number of power generating equipment, low maintenance and reduced train weight.”

The power generator cars consume about 100 litres of diesel per hour apart from huge noise and fume emission.

The official said, “With changeover to this HOG technology, there will be huge savings in fuel bill. Currently, the cost of power through burning of diesel is about Rs 22 per unit and with HOG technology it will be around Rs 6 per unit.”

Moreover, diesel generators also pollute the air by producing about 1,724.6 tonnes of CO2 and 7.48 tonnes of NOx (Nitrogen dioxide) per annum apart from producing about 100db of noise.

With new HOG technology, there will be zero emission of CO2 and NOx apart from being noiseless. In place of two generator cars there will be one on standby which will be used in emergency. The savings towards fuel cost will be around Rs 2 crore per year per rake.