By Dominick Rodrigues
Mumbai: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Railway Station of the Central Railway in Mubai has become the first railway station in Maharashtra to be awarded a Gold certification — as per ratings of Confederation of Indian Industry’s Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
Sanjeev Mittal, General Manager, Central Railway and Shalabh Goel, Divisional Railway Manager, Mumbai — besides a team of Railway Officials — received the IGBC plaque from Gurmit Singh Arora, National Vice-Chairman of IGBC.
Lauding the staff and officials for their consistent effort in implementing green initiatives across the Central Railway Zone, Mittal also thanked the IGBC team for recognizing their effort by conferring CSMT with Gold certification.
The Central Railway has implemented various green initiatives across its zone through plantations in creating green areas, installation of solar panels, customer-friendly initiatives at many stations, LED bulbs and lights etc. Mumbai Division of Central Railway has put in concerted efforts in implementing many Green & passenger-friendly initiatives across its stations including Chhtratpati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
Some of the finest green Building and Passenger-friendly features enabling Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Railway station to receive the IGBC Green Certification include: Station is designed to be commuter friendly for differently-abled and senior citizens; Electric charging points for some of parking spaces to encourage electric 2 & 4 wheelers in parking lot; More than 15% of the station site area is covered with trees and small parks. Landscape area, lawns etc maintained with organic manure; CSMT station has installed on site 245 kWp solar panels; 100% lamps have been replaced with LED fixtures at station; 17 occupancy sensors installed in various offices and waiting rooms; Energy efficient BLDC and HVLS fans are provided and installed at various locations; Comprehensive Mechanized Cleaning Contract focusing on platforms, concourse, circulating areas, parking places, tracks, roof tops, shutters, waiting halls etc. The chemicals used by the contractors are bio-degradable and eco-friendly (Green Pro); Smart passenger amenities like Wifi, Automatic Ticket Vending Machines, Tourism information & Booking Centre, Food Court, Pharmacy & Medical Facility, etc; Measures for Plastic Ban. The station has signage installed stating “Avoid Usage of Plastic Bags”, and digital display boards to create awareness on adverse environmental impacts of plastic bags.
The rating system give impetus to the national priorities like energy efficiency, water conservation, handling of waste measures and motivate adoption of green standards for buildings and its environment.
