India’s first hydrogen train to roll out this month

The first of the 35 hydrogen-powered trains will roll out of the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai this month and the Indian Railways will be launching the country’s first hydrogen train service by May, union minister of railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, has said.

Speaking at the Republic Plenary Summit 2025, he said the railway ministry had allocated Rs2,800 crore in the 2023-24 fiscal year for the development of 35 hydrogen fuel cell-based trains.

The minister said the train is designed to run on clean energy, reducing India’s reliance on fossil fuels and contributing to environmental sustainability. 

Significantly, India’s hydrogen train will be powered by a 1,200 horsepower (HP) engine, setting a global benchmark. Against this, the typical hydrogen train engines used in other countries have 500-600 HP capacities, he pointed out.

This is also among the longest hydrogen trains in the world, he added. 

The first of these trains will operate on the 89-km Jind–Sonipat section of the Delhi Division of Northern Railway. With this, India will be joining the ranks of countries like Germany, France, China, and the UK, that have already adopted hydrogen rail technology.

Vaishnaw said the specifications for these trains were entirely developed in India by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO).

He said the Indian Railways had taken up the development of the first hydrogen train on a pilot basis by retrofitting hydrogen fuel cell on diesel electric multiple unit (DEMU) rake. The RDSO later developed the full specifications needede for a hydrogen-powered train, he added.

The fuel cells generate electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen, releasing only water vapour as a byproduct.

Vaishnaw said the Railways is also working to establish an integrated hydrogen production-storage-dispensation facility for seemless running of these trains.