Have you ever heard of trains that run using water as fuel? Countries like Germany have had commercial hydrogen trains since 2018, and they are powered by fuel cells that produce electricity from hydrogen with water vapour as the only byproduct. India will unveil its first hydrogen train on the Jind-Sonipat route in Haryana in a few days. The train, which is to be a major milestone for Indian railways, covers a distance of 90 kilometres without any harmful emissions. Interestingly, it produces 60% less noise as well, as compared to other vehicles. The Indian Railways has plans to roll out 35 such trains across the country.
Hydrogen train specialties
The train will have a maximum speed of 140 km/h. Its hydrogen fuel tank will allow it to travel up to 1,000 kilometres before refuelling. The train will need around 40,000 litres of water to produce its fuel every hour. Each hydrogen train is manufactured at an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore. 35 hydrogen trains are expected to run across various routes by 2025. However, high operation costs can make hydrogen train tickets more expensive than regular trains.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and Kalka-Shimla Railway are other routes considered for the hydrogen train trial run. France, the UK, the Netherlands, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Italy, and Spain are a few other countries that have hydrogen trains in service.