Niti Aayog to enable setting up of EV charging infrastructure at railway stations

In a bid to promote the use of EVs, NITI Aayog has prepared a draft policy for IR to set up EV charging infrastructure at railway stations across the country. The policy is still under discussion with the Ministry of Rail­ways. It has been recommended that while railways can plan to put in pla­ce EV charging facilities at all stations in a phased manner till 2030, the facility can be immediately provided at 123 redeveloped railway stations. Under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and EV-II scheme, the push is towards the adoption of EVs, especially in public and shared transportation. The aim is to support approximately 7,000 e-buses, 500,000 electric three-wheelers, 55,000 electric four-wheeler passenger cars and 1 million electric two-wheelers through subsidy. In order to achieve this, a good and accessible EV charging infrastructure network is critical. In this context, railway stations can provide secure and accessible charging infrastructure to city residents.