India to Launch First Hydrogen Train by the End of the Year: Plan Until 2047 and Project Details

Indian Railways (IR) is preparing to launch its first hydrogen train by the end of 2024, this is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Anil Kumar Handelwal, a member of the Railway Board of the Ministry of Railways of India, stated that this will be part of the “Hydrogen for Heritage” initiative. According to plans, 50 hydrogen trains will be built in the country by 2047.

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The first hydrogen train will begin operating on the Sonipat–Jind route in Haryana in 2027. In the future, such trains will also run in mountainous regions in the north of the country.

The design and production of the hydrogen train is being handled by the Indian company Medha Servo Drives (MDS).

To fulfill the contract with IR, MDS has entered into an agreement with Ballard Power Systems to supply FCmove-HD+ fuel cells with a capacity of 100 kW for each of the eight cars of two diesel-electric trains, which MDS will also upgrade.

GreenH Electrolysis will develop the infrastructure for the project.

Under the contract, GreenH will build a station in Jind for producing and refueling the new trains with hydrogen.

A 1 MW plant will be installed to produce approximately 420 kg of hydrogen per day.

The refueling station will include a 3-ton hydrogen storage tank, hydrogen compressors, and two refueling modules with built-in coolers for rapid train refueling.

The estimated cost of creating one hydrogen train is $10 million. Developing the necessary infrastructure will cost $8.5 million.

Currently, Indian Railways has already allocated $13 million for these purposes.

Photo: indiarailinfo

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