India’s easternmost railway zone shifts to compostable bio-plastic on trains

GUWAHATI The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has become India’s first railway zone to shift to compostable bio-plastic on trains.

As a pilot initiative, the NFR introduced a biodegradable bag to distribute linen to passengers on August 15, coinciding with the celebration of India’s 79th Independence Day. The ISO17088-compliant bioplastic used as the packaging material was developed at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G).

The initiative was rolled out under the supervision of NFR’s General Manager, Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, and an IIT-G team led by Professor Vimal Katiyar.

NFR spokesperson Kapinjal Kishore Sharma stated the pilot project involves distributing 40,000 bioplastic bags across 25 trains originating from the railway zone’s terminals in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Tripura, and West Bengal.

He stated that the project aligned with the mission of the NFR, India’s easternmost railway zone, to adopt green initiatives for its transportation system.

“The zone has implemented rapid railway electrification, solar energy generation, artificial intelligence-based intrusion detection systems to safeguard elephants and others, rainwater harvesting, quick watering systems, automatic coach washing plants, bio-toilets, a mechanised cleaning system, composting of solid waste, afforestation, and the transformation of wastelands into green areas,” he said.

Mr. Sharma said that an inoculum generation plant at Kamakhya (a railway station near the NFR’s headquarters in Guwahati) has played a vital role in recycling biodegradable waste, which helps in reprocessing used bedroll bags into new ones, further reducing plastic pollution.

NFR officials said the collaboration with IIT-G marks a practical and scalable approach towards greener railway operations and enhanced passenger convenience through environmentally responsible solutions.