In Short : Indian Railways will launch its first hydrogen train this year and aims to introduce 50 hydrogen trains by 2047. This initiative is part of the effort to promote sustainable transportation and reduce carbon emissions in the railway sector.
In Detail : Mr. Anil Kumar Khandelwal, Member (Infrastructure) of the Railway Board said Indian Railways is planning to deploy 50 hydrogen trains by 2047 while the first is expected to start operations this year as reported by ET Infra. Mr Khandelwal also mentioned that India’s first Bullet train will be seen running on tracks by 2027.
Mr Khandelwal announced that the final inspection of Kavach IV has been completed, and plans are now in place to deploy it nationwide on a larger scale. He mentioned that over 1,400 kilometres of work had already been completed. Bidding is underway for an additional 3,000 kilometres on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes, with plans to extend coverage by another 3,200 kilometres and 5,000 kilometres in the near future.
This initiative aims to enhance rail safety. Additionally, the newly established GatiShakti Directorate is playing a major role in streamlining project planning and execution. Mr. Khandelwal highlighted the surge in the number of approved projects from 7-8 annually to 70-80. He also noted that track delivery has improved, with daily averages rising from 4 kilometres to over 14 kilometres, resulting in the completion of more than 5,000 kilometres of new track last year.
Rapid expansion is critical to Indian Railways’ ambitious plan of securing a larger portion of the nation’s freight market. Over the past year, Indian Railways transported 1,600 million tonnes out of an estimated total logistics market of 5,000 million tonnes. By upgrading its infrastructure, Indian Railways aims to increase this share to 35%, or 3,000 million tonnes, by 2030-31.
Highlighting the railway’s exceptional sustainability and efficiency, Mr Vivek Lohia, Co-Chairman (Railways) of the FICCI Transport Infrastructure Committee and Managing Director of Jupiter Wagon, said that rail transport is 40% more efficient than road transport and has an 85% smaller carbon footprint. He also highlighted recent industry milestones, including a 5% increase in freight loading capacity and a 10% rise in operational efficiency over the past year, leading to over 1,600 million tonnes of freight being transported by rail.
