Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation Limited (NMRCL) has commissioned a solar power installation between railway tracks at its Hingna Depot, becoming the first metro operator in India to deploy such a system. The 200-metre pilot is generating electricity with monocrystalline panels, rated at 50 kilowatt peak, and designed to absorb the vibration of passing trains, occupy inter track space that had previously served no productive function, producing power that feeds directly into the depot’s internal supply without touching the city grid.

 

To generate 70,000 units electricity

The system is projected to generate 70,000 units of electricity annually and cut carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 65 tonnes each year. A senior Metro official shared that while Indian Railways and the National Capital Region Transport Corporation had previously attempted inter-track solar installations, no metro system in the country had done so before. The project was researched by the corporation’s Electrical Department Solar Energy division and executed through a vendor. The official shared that the pilot would be scaled only after its performance had been assessed. 

 

Track being examined for further integration 

The project arrives as Nagpur Metro’s Phase II expansion pushes the network toward Hingna, Kanhan, and Butibori, adding track that the corporation says is being examined for further renewable energy integration. The metro network, operational since 2019 across 38 kilometers and two corridors, has presented renewable energy adoption as a consistent institutional priority. Whether the inter track model travels beyond Hingna will depend on what the numbers show. For now, the 200 metre stretch is running. So are the trains above it.