New Delhi: Union Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said earlier that India will roll out indigenously designed and built hydrogen trains at the end of this year on Heritage routes.
On Wednesday, Vaishnaw announced that the country’s first hydrogen train will run on the historic and picturesque Kalka-Shimla historic circuit by December 2023.
Besides Kalka-Shimla route, these hydrogen-powered trains — named Vande Metro — will be introduced on narrow-gauge routes like Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Matheran Hill Railway, Kangra Valley, Bilmora Waghai and Marwar-Devgarh Madriya.
These trains use hydrogen fuel cells — rather than traditional diesel engines – which produce electricity by converting hydrogen and oxygen to power the train’s motors.
The trains will ensure environmentally friendly travel as they don’t emit pollutants like carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, or particulate matter.
Also, hydrogen can be produced using renewable energy sources like wind, solar, or hydro power, making the fuel supply for the trains clean and renewable.
There are, of course, limitations, the high cost being a major impediment.
Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy, costs about Rs 490 per g in India, according to research and ratings agency ICRA.
Consequently, operating cost of a fuel cell-based hydrogen engine is 27% higher than that of a diesel engine.
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