India’s first hydrogen train: Railways’ green initiative takes the heritage route

Also Read: Explainer | Budget 2023: Why India is betting big on green hydrogen

What are hydrogen trains?

Hydrogen trains use hydrogen fuel cells instead of diesel engines. These cells produce electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen, which generates the electricity used to power the train's motors. Among the by-products are water and a little heat.

Hydrogen trains do not emit harmful pollutants such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, or particulate matter, which makes them a more environmentally friendly option than trains that run on diesel. Also, hydrogen can be produced from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, or hydro power, thus ensuring that the fuel supply is clean and renewable.

Also Read: Whistle blows in Germany for world’s first hydrogen train fleet

Routes mapped for initial journeys

The hydrogen trains will initially run on historic, narrow-gauge heritage routes operated by the Kalka-Shimla Railway, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, the Matheran Hill Railway, and others.

The Railway Minister said the idea was to showcase India’s cultural and natural heritage. New circuits like Guru Kripa (which goes to all the places linked with Guru Nanak) will be added to the list. With this move, heritage routes on Indian Railways will go completely green.

"Indian Railways 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 Rs 111.83 crore which are planned to be run on Jind-Sonipat section of Northern Railway,'' said Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on February 3. He added that field trials of the first prototype of these rakes are expected to commence in 2023-2024.

Also Read: In Pics: A look at the world's first hydrogen-powered train that only emits steam and water

India's hydrogen train: How will it work?

The government estimates that the running cost of hydrogen fuel trains will be higher to begin with but will subsequently reduce as the number of trains increases.

Using a clean energy source like hydrogen as fuel provides significant benefits in the direction of green transportation and will help achieve zero carbon emission goals, which has its own economic benefits.

As of now, the obstacle is the massive cost of green hydrogen trains. Green hydrogen costs around Rs 492/kg in India, according to the research and ratings agency ICRA. Along with this, taking various other factors into consideration, the cost of operating a fuel cell-based hydrogen train will be 27 percent higher than that of a diesel one.

Germany's Coradia iLint is the world's first passenger train powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The zero-emission train has low noise levels, and emits only steam / water. This train, which has been tested in Germany since 2018, can run 1,000 km at a speed of 140 kmph.

Epilogue

This historic capex push of the Indian Railways will be spent on the construction of railway tracks, wagons, electrification, signalling, and developing facilities at stations.