New Delhi, Jun 27 (IANS): The Modern Coach Factory (MCF) in Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli is the most environment friendly unit in Indian Railways.

A senior railway official said on Thursday that the GreenCo Rating System of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) is a first-of-its-kind rating system that facilitates companies in improving their overall green performance.

The official said that in the last three years, the MCF, which has received the 'Platinum' rating, had reduced its fresh water consumption by 64 per cent per coach, energy use by 53 per cent per coach and paper usage by 54 per cent.

He said the factory had developed six rainwater harvesting pits consisting of 12 borewells in its workshops and 13 rainwater harvesting pits in the township.

The MCF had also developed six artificial water bodies for recharging groundwater.

"This has brought down the factory's fresh water consumption by 64 per cent per coach in the last three years," the official said.

The MCF has reduced its energy consumption by 53 per cent per coach with the use of energy-efficient fittings and process optimization.

It has also installed the biggest solar power plant of the railways and reduced emission of carbon dioxide by 44 per cent per coach.