Kolkata Metro to get battery power for moving stranded trains

In a first in the country, the Metro Railway Kolkata is installing a battery system that will allow a train filled with passengers to move to the nearest station in the event of a sudden power outage, an official said.

The Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is coming up in the Dakshineswar-New Garia corridor (Blue Line) which runs across Kolkata from the north to the south. The system is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

“It would be the first such initiative in the country to further ensure commuters’ safety and improve energy consumption,” a Metro spokesperson said.

The new system in the Blue Line, India’s oldest Metro service, will be an “amalgamation of inverters and Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) batteries”.

ACCs are the new generation advanced energy storage technologies that can store electric energy, either as electrochemical or chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when required.

The Union Cabinet in 2021 approved the National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Storage with a budgetary outlay of over Rs 18,000 crore. It is being used in Kolkata Metro first among all zones of railways as well as all other metro systems in India.

“This is aimed at strengthening the eco-system for electric mobility and battery storage,” the spokesperson said.

Several foreign multinational companies had expressed eagerness to work with Kolkata Metro to implement this project. Following an open bidding, the Indian subsidiary of a Taiwanese MNC bagged the order last month, he said.

This new system has been designed in such a way that the electricity generated with it can be used to haul rakes packed with passengers at 30 km/hr speed from mid-tunnel to the next station in case of any power failure or even national grid failure.

“This is indeed a huge advancement as passenger-packed trains won’t have to wait in underground tunnels or on viaducts for restoration of power supply in case of a disruption of power. Thousands of passengers can be brought to safety with the help of this system,” the spokesperson said.

This new system, equipped with green batteries and having a lifespan of around 14 years, will require around 106 square metres of space for installation.

It is going to reduce carbon footprint with better energy efficiency, long life and occupy lesser space sans health hazards and fire hazards which are associated much more with acidic or alkaline batteries.