PM Modi Launches India's First Hydrogen Train in Haryana

Modi Highlights Energy Security Benefits

Modi addressed the public gathering at Jind in Haryana, saying that launching India's first Hydrogen train between Jind and Sonipat is a successful implementation of 'Make in India'.

“This hydrogen train has been designed by Indian engineers themselves, and it has been manufactured by an Indian company,” he said.

“The railway transformation over the past 12 years has brought another benefit to India. We have been witnessing that for the past several months, a war has been raging in West Asia, in the entire region of Hormuz in Iran and the Gulf. And the sea route via Hormuz, through which India receives a very large portion of its petrol, diesel, LPG gas and fertilizers for farmers, comes through that very route. But for the past three to four months, this route has continuously turned into a battlefield and has been surrounded by crises. Had this situation occurred before 2014, the operations of Indian Railways would have come to a complete standstill. Because at that time, in 2014, in a very large part of the country, our trains ran solely on diesel. Now think about it, if the supply of diesel had stopped, how would those diesel-run trains have operated? What a massive crisis the country would have plunged into,” he added.

Project to Test Green Hydrogen Rail Technology

Being a pilot project, this hydrogen train would be used to test the hydrogen fuel technology to plan eco-friendly trains in India. This will be for the first time in India, hydrogen fuel cell technology will be implemented. 

Hydrogen will be used to produce electricity in place of diesel in the new train. Hydrogen storage and refueling stations have been developed in addition to the new train. Indian railways has now opted for futuristic technology and replaced traditional diesel engines with technology that has zero emission, only releasing water vapor as a by-product.

Railways Clears Train After Global Safety Tests

Hydrogen is a green fuel but the danger associated with it being flammable is what many consider when we talk about such trains. Hydrogen can neither be seen nor smelled so it is important that all precautions be taken to ensure the safety of such trains. 

A detailed safety assessment has been conducted of the entire train system by an independent third-party in Germany, which is one of the largest companies for technical examination and certification. Safety sensors have been installed to detect hydrogen gas leakage as well as flames at the hydrogen production, storage, and refueling facility and the same shall be periodically checked and cleaned to prevent any accumulation of dust.

The railway minister reassured that the train has passed thorough international level testing and its technical experts are of the opinion that this new train, that does not require any external electrical source, reopens the door to the idea of self-powered trains replacing fuel sources like diesel and coal with hydrogen and foregoing internal combustion altogether.