Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) has signed an agreement with the Delhi Division of Northern Railway to supply piped natural gas (PNG) to 22 railway establishments across Delhi-NCR, replacing around 500 kg of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and 2,500 litres of diesel consumed daily.
The agreement will initially enable the supply of about 3,000 standard cubic metres of gas per day (SCMD), IGL said in a statement. The conversion is being undertaken as part of the government’s PNG Drive 3.0 and will cover railway mechanised laundries, officers’ rest houses, base kitchens, running rooms, subordinate rest houses, and guard and ticket examiner lobbies.
The railway facilities covered by the agreement are located across Delhi, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar. Five mechanised laundries — at Delhi Sarai Rohilla, Old Delhi, Anand Vihar Terminal, Hazrat Nizamuddin and New Delhi — will use PNG for boiler operations.
The move will shift a portion of railway establishments away from conventional fuels towards piped natural gas supplied through the city gas distribution network. IGL said consumption under the initiative could rise to 8,000-10,000 SCMD in the coming years as pipeline infrastructure and connectivity expand across its authorised geographical areas, including Ajmer, Banda, Rewari and Muzaffarnagar.
The agreement was signed in the presence of senior officials from IGL and the Northern Railway’s Delhi Division. IGL Chairman Subhankar Sen said the partnership would support the replacement of LPG with natural gas and reduce reliance on imported fuels and the associated subsidy burden.
“This partnership brings together two major organisations committed to nation building. Indian Railways has chosen IGL as its collaborative partner to replace LPG with PNG and this MoU will facilitate the substitution of a substantial quantity of LPG with natural gas, thereby helping reduce import dependence and the associated subsidy burden,” Sen said.
The arrangement also places railway premises among the institutional and commercial users targeted for expanded PNG consumption. Unlike cylinder-based LPG supply or delivered diesel, PNG requires a connected pipeline network to reach the point of use. The planned increase in consumption will therefore depend on the expansion of pipeline infrastructure and connectivity in the relevant authorised areas.
Delhi Division Railway Manager Pushpesh Raman Tripathi said the agreement would help Indian Railways reduce energy costs. He added that PNG connectivity could later be extended to railway hospitals and residential colonies.
“This MoU will help reduce substantial energy costs for Indian Railways and we plan to extend PNG connectivity to railway hospitals and residential colonies in the future as well,” Tripathi said.
The initial implementation is focused on operational and residential-support facilities, including laundries, kitchens and staff accommodation-related establishments. IGL and the Delhi Division of Northern Railway are expected to expand the network’s use as connectivity becomes available and additional railway facilities are brought into the arrangement.
