Railways to run Hydrogen-powered trains on heritage routes

As part of the "green train" initiative, the Railway Ministry is working on a plan to convert all heritage trains into eco-friendly Green Hydrogen-powered trains.

At present 8 heritage trains, which is being operated by railways in different parts of the country. These trains currently run on either steam or diesel engines.

"The Railways plans to convert these trains into Green Hydrogen-powered trains. This is part of the railways green initiative," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, said here.

"As per the proposal, these trains will continue to don a heritage look. However instead of coal, the train will run on Green Hydrogen fuel," he said.

"These Hydrogen trains will be tailor-made for each route and will be introduced over the next two years,” he added.

Since most of the heritage trains are being operated in hill stations, Hydrogen-powered trains will be environment friendly.

The use of Hydrogen and, in particular, Green Hydrogen as a rail fuel offers a range of benefits, including supporting zero carbon goals as a clean energy source, he said.

At present, the railway is operating 8 heritage trains - Matheran Hill Railway, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Kalka Shimla Railway, Kangra Valley, Bilmora Waghai, Mhow Patalpani, Nilgiri Mountain Railways and Marwar-Devgarh.

The Hydrogen heritage trains will be made in Golden Rock Railway Workshop Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. The Railways is planning to operate the first hydrogen-fuelled train on a heritage route within two years, he said.

Heritage train destinations are highly sought after by tourists due to their historical relevance and charm. But these Narrow and Meter gauge tracks are not compliant with the modern trains that are designed for India’s predominantly Broad Gauge (1,676 mm) routes.

Indian Railways is also developing a hydrogen-powered train in its workshop in Haryana and it will be ready in 2023. These trains will be known as 'Vande Metro' Hydrogen Train, the Minister said recently.

Until now only Germany, China and France have developed hydrogen-powered trains.