The Indian Railways is preparing to issue tenders for the purchase of 35 trains running on clean fuel in an effort to hasten India’s transition to hydrogen trains. The cost of the deal has been estimated at Rs. 2,800 crores by insiders.
Many manufacturers have apparently expressed interest in the Indian transporter, which has met with big businesses like Siemens, Cummins, Hitachi, BHEL, and Medha Servo.
According to officials who spoke with significant industry players, plans are being developed to operate green trains on historic routes.
One official said, “We will flog the tender after taking the industry inputs.”
In order to retrofit hydrogen fuel cells into existing Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) trains, Medha Servo is now working on a prototype project. It will be the first hydrogen train prototype and is anticipated to begin service on the Jind–Sonipat line by the end of the year.
The Rajya Sabha was recently informed by the railway ministry that each hydrogen train will cost approximately Rs 80 crore and that approximately Rs 70 crore would be needed for the ground infrastructure on various hill and heritage routes. The capacity of hydrogen is set in the ground infrastructure.
