Indian Railways has appointed German TUV-SUD to audit third party security for the country’s first hydrogen train. According to the ET report, the trial run for this rolling stock is expected to begin in December 2024. After this, India will now become the fifth country in the world to operate hydrogen -powered trains in collaboration with Germany, France, Sweden and China.
The report states that five hydrogen fuel cell -based tower cars (maintenance vehicles) are also being developed, each of which is estimated to be Rs 10 crore per unit. An official told ET, “As part of the Hydrogen for Heritage Initiative, Indian Railways will have 35 trains at an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore per train, as well as an investment of Rs 70 crore per root ground infrastructure per root ground infrastructure on various heritage or hill routes.”
The official also said that the system integration unit battery and two fuel unit synchronization testing have been successfully completed. The new hydrogen train is going to run on the Jind-Sonipat section of Northern Railway. It has also been reported that the intrigation of the prototype train has been planned at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai.
The report further states that the 1-Magawat Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) will be given by the Electrolezer for the train in Haryana. It has also been reported that the infrastructure of fuel filling in Jind will also have 3,000 kg hydrogen storage, hydrogen compressor and two hydrogen dispenser with pre-coolest integrations, which will work to faster fuel in trains.
