NORTHEAST FRONTIER RAILWAY: FIRST IN INDIA TO USE COMPOSTABLE BIO-PLASTICS
GUWAHATI, Assam, India – August 17, 2025: Big news from Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR)! They’re now the first railway zone in India using compostable bio-plastics for bedrolls on trains. They announced this on August 15, 2025, for India’s 79th Independence Day. It’s a test run to swap out old plastic bags for biodegradable ones (meeting ISO 17088 standards), created with help from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G). About 40,000 of these new bedroll bags will be tested on 25 trains from Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh.
A Team Effort for a Greener Future
This all started when NFR teamed up with IIT Guwahati. Their aim is a practical way to really cut down on plastic mess in a big way.
Both NFR and IIT Guwahati folks say this is a big step toward greener trains. NFR General Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava and IIT-G’s Professor Vimal Katiyar are leading the charge.
Cool Tech at Work
IIT Guwahati’s research team came up with the bio-plastic. What’s cool is that it breaks down fast in compost, unlike regular plastics that stick around forever.
The ISO 17088 thing means it rots down in factory composting places. This makes sure it won’t leave tiny plastic bits after disposal, a worry with other biodegradable choices.
Part of a Bigger Green Plan
This is just one piece of Indian Railways’ bigger plan: net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. They started adding sustainability in other areas too.
Over the last 10 years, Indian Railways began changing tons of lines to electric. Plus, they’ve put up solar panels on stations and buildings for power.
They’re also putting in bio-toilets on trains, rainwater catchers at stations, and automatic train washers. Basically, they want to lower how much they affect the environment as the world’s fourth-largest train network.
How it Works
This test is running on a chosen group of trains. The trains start at stations all over the NFR area, which is most of Northeast India.
The Brahmaputra Mail (Kamakhya to New Delhi) is one of the first to get the new bags. If all goes well, NFR will use them everywhere.
There’s a special plant at Kamakhya that helps recycle the biodegradable stuff. It reprocesses the used bedroll bags into fresh ones, making it a circle of use and reuse.
Past Green Steps
While this is a first for bedroll stuff, Indian Railways has tried going green before. Back in 2018, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) checked out bagasse food packaging.
Bagasse comes from sugarcane, and they made throw-away forks, spoons and containers for some fancy Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains. It was an early attempt to lose non-biodegradable plastic in a place where they use a lot.
And in 2019, the Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express (India’s first private train) used biodegradable water bottles. All these tests have made way for bigger and better stuff like what NFR is doing.
Tackling Plastic Problems
The goal is to get rid of plastic waste on trains. Since they carry over eight billion people a year, Indian Railways creates a ton of trash, mainly throw-away plastic from meals etc.
India’s rules, like the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2021, really pushed this. These rules try to end single-use plastics and push alternatives that are better for the world.
NFR’s move lines up with these goals. They’re showing that big operations can be eco-friendly without cutting corners.
What People are Saying
Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, who speaks for NFR, thinks this project is great and that their cooperation with IIT Guwahati is a model that any railway system could use across the country.
The project mixes research with actual on-the-ground action. It aims to switch to choices that help out both the planet and passengers.
The people in charge also mentioned that the recycling plant is very important. It stops old bags from going to waste dumps and causing mess.
What’s Next?
If NFR’s test run works, it could become a standard everywhere. People from other railway zones will be watching closely.
If it cuts costs and works well, it could be copied nationwide. That would drastically reduce plastic waste in India.
The project shows how public groups can team with schools and research places. Together, they can come up with new ideas using local stuff, to fix big mess the environment makes. It shows a modern way to handle how we build and use the infrastructure.
