The Indian Railways is adopting the Head On Generation (HOG) system for supplying power to run air conditioning, lighting and fans in LHB rakes which till now needed additional diesel generator cars for supplying power. The HOG system will draw electricity from the Over Head Cable, step it down and provide it for running the electrical systems in the coaches. Usually LHB rakes had either one or two power cars. These will be replaced by a single silent emergency diesel generator. The power cars will be replaced with luggage cum passenger coaches. As a result, the Indian Railways would be in a position to offer 400,000 additional berths to passengers every day.

The changeover will reduce the cost of power from INR 22.00/ unit to INR 6.00/ unit thus saving the railways approximately INR 1,400 Crore (US$ 194.4 Million). Rajesh Agarwal, member, rolling stock at the Railways Board informed that there is a plan to convert all LHB trains to HOG technology within the end of the current financial year. As of now, 342 trains have already started using the new technology.

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