This is totally unexplored area on Indian Railways. At the core of this system lies a feature that a few meters below the surface of the earth, the temperature remains constant around the year and is generally the average of the peak temperatures at that place. For a place like Delhi where there is a high of nearly 47-48°C in summers, and low of 4°C winters, by the effect of Geo Thermal Energy, the temperature at around 4 meters below the surface remains approximately 25°C around the year. The air taken from such depth will thus have a pleasant temperature of 25°C and can be used for replacing the cost of air-conditioning. The development of air tunnels for this purpose will be one time investment requiring very little maintenance expense & effort.
IROAF has recommended to all Zonal Railways, use of this technology for running staff stay facility, trainee hostels etc. This will not only save lot of electrical energy used for cooling of hostel/stay rooms but also eliminate frequent maintenance related problems.
