Tata Power, UNEP, and Central Railway join hands to set up EV charging points

- EV charging stations to be installed in the parking area of nine railway stations 

- Registration of electric vehicles grew by 405 per cent in three years

The trio of Central Railway, Tata Power, and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) have come together to install charging points for electrical vehicles at several railway stations in the city of Mumbai.

The setting up of charging points will take place in a phase-wise manner starting with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Thane, Dadar, Parel, and Byculla for which work orders have already been issued. The second phase will cover the stations of Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Bhandup, Panvel, and Kurla. These points will be mounted at the parking facility of each station and EV owners can use the service through a pay-per-use model. 

As per a recent survey by the transport department of Maharashtra, the registration of electric cars and scooters escalated by almost 405 per cent from 1,459 units in 2017-18 to 7,400 units in 2019-20. In the island city, the figures jumped from a mere 46 units to a total of 672 units. 

Robin Kalia, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Central Railway, Mumbai, said, “An EV charging station has been installed at Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CMT) in partnership with TATA Power and UNEP. We plan to extrapolate this model for installing EV charging stations at all major railway stations under Mumbai division. This endeavour owes its successful implementation to the strategic leadership of Shri Shalabh Goel, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Mumbai and the technical support provided by the Electrical Engineering team led by Shri H. S. Sood, Sr. Divisional Electrical Engineer, Mumbai.”

Commenting on this partnership, Dr Praveer Sinha, CEO & Managing Director of Tata Power, said, “We are extremely glad to collaborate with the UNEP and Central Railway for our clean mobility initiatives. This partnership is important for us as it will demonstrate our commitment to provide greener and cleaner e-mobility solutions to consumers in the Mumbai, capital city of Maharashtra.”