Mumbai Railway stations will soon get EV charging points

The Central Railway’s Mumbai division partners with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Tata Power to launch their novel green initiative to promote e-mobility in the city.

On Friday, February 5, the joint venture has announced the installation of charging points for electrical vehicles (EVs) as a part of this initiative. These charging points would be available at all important railway stations in the island city, the suburbs, and the adjoining Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

The collaborative venture aims to boost the overall e-mobility sector and encourage green mobility around railway stations, which are transport modal hubs. Further, they have already awarded contracts for railway stations including Thane, Dadar, Parel, and Byculla in the first phase of the green initiative. While in the second phase, tenders have been floated for the next set of stations including Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Bhandup, Panvel, and Kalyan. Also, areas at the entry-exit points of railway stations with parking facilities have been designated for the charging stations as per the availability.

Recounting their initiative, Head of UNEP’s India Office, Atul Bagai said that a transition to e-mobility is one of the best solutions for combatting the challenges of air pollution and the climate crises with electrification being a flexible, energy-efficient, and sustainable way to decarbonise the economy.

Supporting the cause, UNEP is implementing a global program to support countries with the shift to electric mobility. The program supports more than 60 country projects, including India, where upcoming projects include the electrification of India’s government car fleet with the support of the Global Environment Facility.

Consequently, the expansion of charging points will augment Tata Power’s network of 300 already in place in 40 different cities.

An EV charging station has been installed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in partnership with TATA Power and UNEP. A plan is underway to extrapolate this model for installing EV charging stations at all major Railway Stations under the Mumbai division.