A news item published earlier this week caught my eye. It was the futuristic plan of the #Indian #Railways. Very soon, Indian Railways plans to build #MagLev #trains and coaches for #bullet #trains. This is great news for all #train #lovers.
Long before #India was connected by extensive railways, #Mysore #State had its own railways. Beginning 1870 to 1950, Mysore State Railway gradually added rail routes to stay connected with the other parts of the country. Mysore State Railway eventually merged with Southern Railways in 1950. Such works were significant in connecting people across the geographic and political divisions.
Rail journeys play a significant part in everyone’s life in India even today. Friendships forged during train journeys can last a life time. A train journey is like a pilgrimage. The chances that the goods you use are transported by trains. In 2013, about 625,723 million ton-km of goods was transported by Railways in India.
While researching for today’s blog, I looked up some vintage pictures of trains in India.
Her is another picture of train chugging up the Darjeeling Hills.
Image courtesy: Wiki Media commons.
Notice something about these pictures? They show #smoky trains. Earliest trains used #coal as the fuel. This resulted in much dust and health not only to the train passengers, but also in the surrounding areas. It also hurt the miners who were digging up the #coal.
Coal is a fossil fuel. All over the world, there is concerted effort to reduce and eventually #reverse the effects of fossil fuels on people and environment. India too is rightly moving in the direction.
Every summer vacation, when we visited my grandparents, we would undertake an overnight train journey. It was an adventure. I loved every minute of it. When we went home, we were always sent straight to shower. We would be covered in the dust and smoke. My hair would be caked with black, dark, thick, gooey dust that had mixed with my hair oil. Lathering away the dust and coal would make me feel like I got a #new body! My lungs were good at the time. But, I have seen people wheeze and suffer during train journeys.
Use of fossil fuel harms the environment, the body, and the entire system. #Combustion of fossil fuels produces carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, and causes air pollution and smoky fog. In brief, these products lead to the cause of excessive greenhouse gases that lead to #global #warming.
Global warming affects all of us. This video explains how greenhouse gases cause global warming.
Moving to newer technologies is required in modern times. Magnetic levitation trains (#Maglev) are one such technological innovation. Unlike traditional trains, #Maglev trains do not use fuels. They run on electromagnets which cause the train to #levitate and achieve high speeds. They don’t need rails, they don’t need fuel in the traditional sense. They need a raised platform, dedicated and specialized form of magnets and uninterrupted supply of high #voltage #electricity.
Learn more about Maglev trains:
In a country like India, with high passenger traffic, reduced travel time between large cities is a necessity to increase the efficiency of the system. When high speed trains are increased in frequency, it will lead to reduction in travel time for the passengers and serve more passengers. Maglev trains are #futuristic and very much necessary for reducing our #dependency on fossil fuels.
It is indeed expensive to build and maintain a Maglev train system. The benefits and rewards are many for the travelers and businesses. High speed trains can often match the time it takes for an airplane to reach a similar destination. Super high speed Maglev trains can cover distances at amazing speeds. Let us all #cheer for India’s Maglev experiment to become successful!
Read Green Transport for an overview of the sustainable ways we can travel.
