India to Get Its First Hydrogen Train by December 2023 to Run on Heritage Circuits

The Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that India’s first hydrogen train will be ready by December 2023, and run on heritage routes for now.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: February 03, 2023

At a press conference held in New Delhi’s Rail Bhawan, Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Railway Minister said that the most-awaited hydrogen train – the first for India, will get manufactured by the year-end of 2023, and operate on heritage circuits of Kalka-Shimla and others. The train will also run on other routes and places in time. The Union Railway Minister also assured that PM Modi’s vision of representing cultural heritage through trains will see the light of day as well.

Thus, new circuits are going to be added to the list, such as the Gurukripa circuit. In the last month itself at the Northern Railway workshop, he also had conveyed that a prototype of the train to run on hydrogen fuel was under development. It will test-run in Haryana’s Sonipat-Jind section. Shri. Vaishnaw said that from December 2023, the hydrogen trains would be rolled out on heritage routes, which means that these routes will be eco-friendly and completely green.

Referring back to Budget 2023, he said that such developments in trains will act as a growth engine for the nation. Ashwini Vaishnaw appreciated the allocation of Rs. 2.41 lakh crore toward Indian Railways by the Finance Minister. According to him, this is a big change for railways and will meet the aspirations of passengers. The Railway Minister believed that the Indian Railways is expanding every year.

1275 stations have been already re-developed under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme. Also, the Vande Bharat trains and their production are set to be revamped. Ashwini Vaishnaw added that 3 kilometers of track used to be laid every day before 2014. This has increased to 12 kilometers of track every day in the current year, and the next year’s target is to achieve 16 kilometers of track per day.

The Railway Minister of India said that manufacturing of the Vande Bharat trains will take place in Latur, Maharashtra, Rae Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, and Sonipat, Haryana. And this shall serve as a step toward fulfilling the dream of PM Narendra Modi of connecting every corner of India through Vande Bharat trains. He said that the Uttar Pradesh railway section is also making great progress on the Bullet Train.