Indian Railways to Start 35 Hydrogen Trains Under 'Hydrogen for Heritage' Program

Field trials of the first prototype on Jind –Sonipat section of Northern Railway is      expected to commence in 2023-2024. Indian Railways (IR) has envisaged to run 35 (thirty five) Hydrogen trains  under “Hydrogen for Heritage” at an estimated cost of ₹ 80 crores per train and ground infrastructure of ₹ 70 crores per route on various heritage/hill routes.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

Besides, IR has also awarded a pilot project for retro fitment of Hydrogen Fuel cell on existing Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) rake along with ground infrastructure at the cost of ₹ 111.83 crores which is planned to be run on Jind –Sonipat section of Northern Railway.

The running cost of Hydrogen fuel based train is not established in IR scenario. It is estimated that the initial running cost of Hydrogen fuel train-set will be higher which will subsequently reduce with increase in number of trains. Further, the use of Hydrogen as fuel provides larger benefits in the direction of green transportation technology to support zero carbon emission goals as a clean energy source.