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After Vande Bharat, Government Gears Up For Another Milestone – Hydrogen-Powered Trains
Though Vande Bharat Express trains have been surrounded by controversies such as their profitability, and compatibility with existing infrastructure, they surely have grabbed the attention of all the Indian citizens in a positive manner.
In fact, we expect the newly introduced Vande Bharat Express trains to act as a beacon of progress not only for the Indian railway sector but also for the country.
Now, after a long feasibility study, the Indian Railways has started working on the 'Hydrogen for Heritage' scheme. Under this new scheme, Indian Railways will operate Hydrogen-powered trains in environmentally sensitive hilly areas.
According to the proposal, 35 hydrogen-powered trains are planned to be deployed across the nation. Moreover, each of these eco-friendly trains will cost Rs 80 crore, and the government would additionally spend Rs 70 crore on each of the 8 proposed routes.
All of these 8 heritage routes have a high potential for tourism and we expect such eco-friendly infrastructure projects to have a significant impact on the future projects of the country. Also, we expect this project to generate plenty of income for the Indian Railways while also reducing input costs.
As per the details from the report, the pilot project consisting of the retro fitment of hydrogen fuel cells on existing diesel electrical multiple units (DEMU) and ground infrastructure has been planned on the Jind-Sonipat section of the Nothern Railways at an estimated cost of Rs 111.83 crore.
Furthermore, it is also worth mentioning that the field trials for the hydrogen fuel cell-based propulsion system are slated to start in June 2024. Also, Indian Railways is awarding a contract to convert 1,200kW DEMU with the proposed hydrogen fuel cell system.
Speaking more about the new Hydrogen-powered trains, the 35 train-set rakes with each of these sets having 6 cars have been sanctioned in Rolling Stock Programme 2023-24 for all the proposed 8 heritage routes.
These 8 heritage routes consist of the Matheran Hill Railway, Darjeeling Himalaya Railway, Kalka Shimla Railway, the Kangra Valley, the Bilmora Waghai, the Patapalpani Kalakund, Nilgiri Mountain Railways and Marwar-Goram ghat railway.
Thoughts: We expect this new project to generate plenty of income for the Indian Railways while also reducing input costs. Also, this project is expected to have a significant impact on the future projects of the country.
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