35 hydrogen-powered trains would be run by Indian Railways on several historic and hilly routes around the country. The anticipated cost of each train under “Hydrogen for Heritage” is Rs 80 crores, while the cost of the ground infrastructure is Rs 70 crores. By the end of this year, the nation’s first hydrogen-powered train may travel along the historic Kalka-Shimla railway route. Recently, the Union Railway Minister made a statement to this effect.
Hydrogen fuel, a green fuel with no carbon emissions, will be used to power the train. At the railway stations at Shimla, Barog, and Kalka, three hydrogen gas stations will be built. The government reports that the hydrogen train project has been accelerated and should be finished by the end of this year. The Minister stated in a written response to a Rajya Sabha question that “Indian Railways has also awarded a pilot project for the retrofitting of Hydrogen Fuel cells on existing Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) rake along with ground infrastructure at the cost of Rs 111.83 crores which are planned to be run on Jind-Sonipat section of Northern Railway.”Vaishnaw added that the Northern Railway’s Jind-Sonipat segment field trials for the first prototype are anticipated to start in 2023–2024. The minister claimed that the Indian Railway situation does not determine the running cost of trains powered by hydrogen fuel.
