A 10-coach train started running on an 89-kilometre stretch between Jind and Sonipat in Haryana on Friday, and its power plant is a stack of hydrogen fuel cells. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first journey. “This is a very significant day in the direction of self-reliant India and sustainable development,” he said in a social media post.
The fuel cells rated at 1,200 kilowatts combine hydrogen with oxygen to make electricity, and the only emissions are water and steam. Officials called it the world’s most powerful system of its kind for a train.
How “indigenous” is it
The railway ministry said the train was “developed entirely in India.” Senior officials told reporters, though, that some key components, the fuel cells among them, were imported.
The ministry also opened what it called the country’s largest railway hydrogen storage and refuelling facility, in Jind. It holds some 3,000 kilogrammes of hydrogen.
Cost
The pilot cost around $12 million, a senior railway official said. He accepted that this is far more than a comparable conventional service would cost. He expects the price to come down as the technology matures.
A busy year for the network
India now sits alongside Germany, Japan, China and the United States, which are testing or running hydrogen trains. The railways last year carried 7.41 billion passengers and 1.67 billion tonnes of freight, according to official data. Domestic Vande Bharat trains reach up to 180 kilometres per hour. A bullet train line is under construction with Japanese Shinkansen technology, and officials expect its first section to open in 2027, with trains running at up to 320 kph.
