Hydrogen Trains for Narrow Gauge Heritage Tours by 2023 End; Know the Routes

New Delhi: Hydrogen-fuelled trains will run on narrow gauge heritage routes by the end of this year.

“We will roll out the hydrogen trains on the heritage routes from December 2023. This will mean that these heritage routes will go completely green,” said Indian Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw stated.

The heritage routes of Indian Railways are Matheran Hill Railway, Kangra Valley, Bilmora Waghai, Marwar-Devgarh Madriya, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Kalka Shimla Railway, as well as Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

These new Hydrogen-fuelled trains named Vande Metro will replace the existing trains made in the 1950s and 1960s running on these routes.

The Indian Railway is developing a prototype of hydrogen fuel-based train engine at its Northern Railway workshop. Trial run of this train will be held on the Sonipat-Jind section in Haryana.

The new hydrogen-powered trains of India are on the lines of German and Chinese counterparts. Germany was the first country to launch hydrogen-driven trains, which can run for 1,000km at a speed of 140kmph. China recently introduced hydrogen-powered trains.