New Delhi, March 14 (IANS) Indian Railways would be introducing green trains with bio-toilets to provide better hygiene for passengers as part of its green initiatives, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi said Wednesday.

"There is an urgent need to replace the conventional open-discharge toilets with green toilets with a view to having cleaner, hygienic and safer railway ecosystem," Tivedi said while presenting the railway budget for 2012-13 in the Lok Sabha.

"The DRDO (Defence Research & Development Organisation) developed bio-toilets are currently under extended trial to test their efficacy and suitability. In the next year, 2,500 coaches will be equipped with these bio-toilets," he added.

According to the minister, trials with retention-evacuation type toilets such as vacuum toilets are also planned on a few premium trains and based on experience, more number of coaches would be equipped with such green toilets.

In order to protect the environment the railways will also be introducing 200 remote railway stations, which will be powered entirely by solar energy while solar lighting system will be provided at 1,000 manned level crossing gates.

Trivedi has also announced setting up of 72 MW capacity windmill plants in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

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