Indian Railways' big fuel switch: 22 railway sites to replace LPG and diesel with PNG, check locations and benefits

Indian Railways is set to replace the daily consumption of around 500 kg of liquefied petroleum gas and 2,500 litres of diesel with piped natural gas at 22 railway establishments across Delhi, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar. The move follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Northern Railway and Indraprastha Gas Limited to expand the use of natural gas across railway facilities.

What the Agreement Covers

Under the first phase, IGL will provide PNG connections to 22 designated railway locations. Initial consumption is estimated at 3,000 Standard Cubic Metres per Day, and the company expects demand to climb to between 8,000 and 10,000 SCMD in the coming years as gas infrastructure and connectivity expand.

The pact is part of the government’s National PNG Drive 3.0, which aims to speed up the adoption of piped natural gas among institutional and commercial consumers.

Laundries, Kitchens and Rest Houses

A key part of the initiative involves the mechanised laundries run by Northern Railway at Delhi Sarai Rohilla, Old Delhi, Anand Vihar Terminal, Hazrat Nizamuddin and New Delhi. PNG will fuel the boilers at these facilities, replacing the fuel currently used.

The agreement also covers officers’ rest houses, base kitchens, running rooms, subordinate rest houses, and guard and Travelling Ticket Examiner lobbies. All of these need regular fuel supplies, and a pipeline connection offers a steadier alternative to cylinders and diesel deliveries.

The collaboration may extend well beyond the first 22 sites. IGL said it could widen as PNG infrastructure develops across its authorised areas, including Ajmer, Banda, Rewari and Muzaffarnagar. Pushpesh Raman Tripathi, Divisional Railway Manager of Delhi Division, Northern Railway, said the partnership would help cut substantial energy costs and that Northern Railway plans to bring PNG to railway hospitals and residential colonies in future.

Expansion, however, depends on pipeline infrastructure being built and connections becoming available at additional locations.

What It Means for Operations

Piped supply is expected to make fuel more convenient for heavy users such as laundries and kitchens, and to reduce the need to store and transport conventional fuels at connected sites. It also supports the wider push to increase natural gas use among institutions.

IGL Chairman Subhankar Sen said replacing a substantial quantity of LPG with natural gas could help reduce India’s dependence on fuel imports and the associated subsidy burden. He added that the initiative could be a starting point for a wider shift from LPG to PNG across the Indian Railways network. Managing Director Kumar Shanker called the agreement a pioneering model of collaboration between Indian Railways and city gas distribution companies. The MoU was signed in the presence of senior officials from both organisations, including Mohit Bhatia, Director (Commercial) at IGL.

For now, the immediate goal is clear: take 500 kg of LPG and 2,500 litres of diesel out of daily railway use in the capital region and replace them with gas delivered through a pipe.