World's First Fully Solar-Powered Train Begins its Journey in Byron Bay, Australia
By the way, did you know a similar solar-powered train was launched in India in July 2017?
In a time of the industrialization degrading the environment, Australia has given a fine example to people all over to utilize natural resources. The world’s first fully solar-powered train has started running in Australia’s Byron Bay. Located in eastern Australia in New South Wales, Byron Bay is sure to attract a lot of tourists now to its new train service connecting to the North beach.
The train runs for a smaller distance comparatively but is a vintage model topped with solar panels. The approximately 3-kilometre track lay untouched for more than a decade has now been renewed and how! A 1949, WWII-era railcar has been refurbished with a solar panel on its roof and made ready for the sustainable development. It can carry a capacity of 100 people. “We searched the country and found a dilapidated vintage train, restored it, and are now powering it with a 4.6 billion-year-old power source,” says Jeremy Holmes, Byron Bay Railroad Company’s development director.
This part of New South Wales is sunny most part of the year. Meanwhile, on no sunny days, the train can be charged in a special shed. The train has been designed to accommodate all possibilities. In case of a prolonged bad weather, it also has batteries onboard, which can be charged with local green energy sources. And if at all there is an electrical failure, the train also has a diesel engine as a last resort. The train functions entirely on solar power captured by the 6.5-kW train-top solar panels. This gets stored directly in the lithium battery system that powers dual electric AC traction motors, lighting, control circuits of the train. People turning up here for the beautiful sandy beaches definitely have something more to explore now.
By the way, did you know a similar solar-powered train was launched in India in July 2017? This train too has a battery power facility which ensures enough power to run in the absence of sunlight, say in the dusky times. However, the route for this train is to be decided and worked upon. Meanwhile, the metro rail services in Chennai are also going to be powered by solar panels. The rooftops on these stations will be installed with solar panels. The work is ongoing and should be completed soon. Even the Delhi Metro Phase III is likely to be powered by solar energy. We hope all of these projects see the light of the day and extensively promote renewable sources of energy.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 30, 2017 04:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).