Safety of CNG buses
Delhi government submitted to the Supreme Court that they are
unable to register new CNG buses as these buses are not compliant with requirement of the
new notification from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
This has no basis as the buses can be registered as per the current safety regulations.
The new notification notified by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will come
into force in May 19, 2002. The manufacturers claim that they can meet the new standards
once these come into force.
It is important to note that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has modified its
earlier notification for CNG vehicles issued on February 9, 2000, after the Environment
Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) submitted its report on the inadequacy
of the existing safety regulations to the Supreme Court .
EPCA report on safety of CNG vehicles
EPCA submitted their report on Standards for
CNG Vehicles and Refilling Stations submitted to court in July 2001, and also gave several
suggestions that include
Inspect each and every bus before
it is allowed on road. All CNG buses must undergo an inspection of the engine and
high-pressure fuel storage system before being allowed on road. This inspection programme
should subsequently be extended to comprise periodic inspections (at least annually) on
all operating CNG buses for emissions and safety compliance. This inspection should be
equivalent to the conformity of production (COP) inspections for OEM buses. Furthermore,
it should comply with the respective regulations prevalent in other countries.
MRTH must notify the technical and
legal requirements for the authorisation of the conversion workshops. As of now
the kit installation on in-use vehicles can only be carried out by workshops authorised by
the kit manufacturer / kit supplier. But requirement for these workshops, either legal or
technical, have not been defined.
All converted/retrofitted buses
must meet Euro II emissions standards and not the emissions standards meant for
diesel and petrol vehicles of their year of manufacture. This will also eliminate the
possibility of bad conversion that can lead to safety hazards. Euro IV standards should be
notified for the CNG buses as soon as possible with the help of economic incentives for
these vehicles.
Engine converters must obtain a new
type approval for each separate diesel engine model they seek to retrofit. Current
regulations allow extension of the type approval certificate to other engine/CNG-kit
combinations than the one originally submitted for type approval. This can result in
unacceptable exhaust emission levels, poor driveability, performance etc. Since the number
of diesel engine models used in Delhi buses is small, -- just three models, this would not
pose much of a hurdle. Requirements for durability testing, emissions warranty and other
commitments by the manufacturer of the engine should be laid down.
The capabilities and capacities of
the type approval institutions should be improved in order to reduce the duration
of the whole type approval procedure to reasonable, internationally acceptable timeframe.
In the production of the chassis,
there is still some room for improvement in areas such as: material of the
high-pressure piping, fixing of pipes to the chassis, tightening of the couplings, venting
of the pressure relief valve, and inspection of gas pipes.
|
In view of these recommendations the Ministry of Road transport and
Highways incorporated some of them in their notification published in November 19, 2001.
The notification number G.S.R 853 (E), states that a safety code of practice has been
issued called AIS 024.
But more importantly it puts the onus of inspection not only on the kit or vehicle
manufacturer but also the transport authority. It says "while registering every
converted bus, vehicle manufacturers/kit installers along with bus body builders and
transport authority shall jointly inspect the bus prior to registration. The registration
of such a vehicle shall be done only after signing the report jointly by all the concerned
along with the transport authority."
It has further made Euro II emissions standards mandatory for all new CNG buses and Euro I
for converted buses.
According to the notification, this will come into force only six months after the date
that it is notified. This means that all the rules and regulations in the
notification including safety will apply to all vehicles only from May 19, 2002.
|
