New Delhi, July 25 (IANS). India’s first indigenous hydrogen train, which is a 10-coach model and emits only water vapor during operation, has successfully covered a distance of over 1,200 kilometres. During this period, more than 3,200 liters of diesel was saved. This information was given by the Railway Ministry in an official statement issued on Saturday.
According to the Railway Ministry, the chemical process taking place between hydrogen and oxygen in the hydrogen train generates electricity within the train itself. In this process only water vapor is released as a by-product.
The entire process is smoke-free and has zero tailpipe carbon emissions, the ministry said. This is the reason why it is considered to be the cleanest rail propulsion technology of the present time.
The train has two hydrogen driving power cars, providing a total power of 2,400 kW. These are also supported by lithium iron phosphate batteries and hydrogen cylinders.
Green hydrogen for the train has been stored at a pressure of up to 500 bar, while it is supplied at a pressure of 350 bar. Overall it has the capacity to store about 3,000 kg of hydrogen.
The Railway Ministry said that several independent safety systems have been installed in the train, which can immediately detect gas leakage, excessive heat, fire and smoke. Along with this, automatic shut-off systems, continuous ventilation, adherence to international safety standards and all necessary technical tests are also ensured.
According to the statement, after the successful operation between Jind and Sonipat, the trial of this train will soon be started on the Delhi route also.
The ministry said India’s hydrogen fuel cell train lays the foundation for an indigenous hydrogen rail ecosystem in the country and reflects India’s commitment towards sustainable, zero-emission rail transport. This will also pave the way for future expansion of this technology and global leadership in the field of clean transportation.
After the launch of the train, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said while talking to IANS that India has reserved the intellectual property (IP) rights of this indigenous hydrogen train technology, so that this technology can also be exported in future.
He said that hydrogen is emerging as the major fuel of the future not only in India but all over the world and Indian Railways is taking many important initiatives to promote its use.
Ashwini Vaishnav said, “Railways has developed a completely indigenous 2,400 kilowatt capacity hydrogen propulsion system for the transport sector, which has been installed in this train. This technology is completely indigenous and realizes the vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.”
–IANS
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