Railways to start hydrogen train trials in current financial year: Lahoti

Railway Board Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti on Wednesday said work was underway on the project to develop the country's first hydrogen train and efforts were being made to start its trial in the current financial year itself.

Running trains on hydrogen would be a huge "technological breakthrough" in the country, Lahoti told reporters in Indore.

"The Northern Railway has already awarded the contract to develop the hydrogen train and work is underway on it," he said.

Hydrogen train is a new technology at the international level and such a train is being developed for the first time in the country, hence the Indian Railways is aiming to complete the project in an efficient manner instead of setting very strict timelines for it, he said.

"We want the testing of hydrogen trains to start in this financial year in the country," Lahoti said.

Hydrogen train technology is still under development around the world. We will move ahead on this front as we learn this new technology, he said.

Lahoti said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already announced that 75 Vande Bharat trains will be run in the country and to implement it, the Railways is running three such trains on an average every month.

The Railway Board chairman was here to attend the departmental meeting organised to review the ongoing rail projects in and around Indore.

Lahoti said he reviewed projects for the redevelopment of Indore railway station, conversion of Mhow-Khandwa rail route from metre gauge to broad gauge and other projects and instructed the officials concerned to speed up the work.