Indian Railways has taken up a state-of-the-art project for running of its first hydrogen train, on pilot basis, as per specifications framed by the Research, Design & Standards Organization (RDSO) to demonstrate the use of hydrogen powered train technology in Railways.
Manufacturing of Hydrogen Train-set has been completed. For providing hydrogen for use in this train-set, a hydrogen plant has been conceived at Jind. In this plant, hydrogen is being produced using electrolysis process which is key element of green hydrogen generation.
Prominent features of Hydrogen Train-set are as below:
- Designed and Developed in India demonstrating Indian Railways’ commitment to Atmanirbhar Bharat.
- Presently, it is the world’s longest (10 coaches) and most powerful (2400 kW) Hydrogen Train-set on Broad Gauge platform.
- The train-set comprises of two Driving Power Cars (DPCs) of 1200 kW each, totalling 2400 kW along with eight passenger cars.
- Zero CO2 emissions; only emission is water vapour.
- Major step in development of next generation fuel technology in Railways.
This project involved designing from first stages, prototype manufacturing and first-time development of hydrogen traction technology in Indian Railways. As the Hydrogen Train-set and its infrastructure have been developed on a pilot basis, direct comparison of the cost of hydrogen-fuelled trains with established traction systems at this stage would not present a fair cost comparison.
The project establishes the commitment of Indian Railways towards advancements in alternative energy-powered train travel thereby ensuring a cleaner and greener future for the country’s transportation sector.
