• Around the world, many stakeholders are showing interest in hydrogen powered technology that can be developed as a sustainable transportation option
Indian Railways is planning to introduce hydrogen-powered trains on its narrow gauge heritage routes by December, making them "completely green", on the lines of hydrogen trains running in China and Germany. Currently, the Railways is developing a prototype of the Hydrogen. Fuel based train at Northern Railway Workshop which will do trial-run on Sonipat-Jind section in Haryana.
Heritage routes of the Indian Railways, which run mainly on diesel, include the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Kalka Shimla Railway, Matheran Hill Railway, Kangra Valley, Bilmora Waghai and Marwar-Deogarh Madaria. All these routes are narrow gauge.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, "We will start hydrogen trains on heritage routes from December 2023. This will mean that these heritage routes will become completely green."
The minister had announced last month that the Indian Railways would introduce its first domestically designed and manufactured hydrogen-powered train by December 2023. "We are doing the design and the design should come somewhere by May or June," he told reporters during a visit to the southern city of Bengaluru.
The newly-built hydrogen-powered trains will be called Vande Metro and will be manufactured in large numbers to replace the current set of trains built in the 1950s and 1960s.
Most trains in India now run on diesel or electricity. Hydrogen-powered trains will play an important role in reducing carbon emissions and achieving climate goals. Around the world, several stakeholders are showing interest in hydrogen-powered technology, which can be developed as a sustainable transportation option.
Germany began operating hydrogen-powered trains in July this year, making it the first country in the world to do so. The construction company describes the train as "a perfect alternative to diesel power" and the estimated total cost of the train is $86 million. The train can run 1000 km in a single charge at 140 kmph and was being tested in Germany since 2018.
China recently launched Asia's first hydrogen-powered train, which travels a distance of 600 km on a single tank. According to reports, the top speed of this hydrogen-powered train is 160 kmph.
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