Overview
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the 10‑coach hydrogen train on Friday, and Northern Railway has scheduled regular commercial service to begin on Sunday, July 19 as trains 74009/74010.
- The train was developed in India with a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel‑cell system that produces electricity onboard and emits only water vapour and heat rather than combustion exhaust.
- Indian Railways says the set has two hydrogen driving power cars with about 1,200 kW of fuel‑cell propulsion and a combined quoted output of roughly 3,200 horsepower and room for about 2,600 passengers.
- A new hydrogen ecosystem in Jind includes an electrolysis‑based plant with roughly 3,000 kg storage, two 350‑bar dispensers and a reported four‑hour refuelling time that allows two round trips on the Jind–Sonipat route.
- Experts warn that scaling beyond this pilot will demand steady supplies of low‑carbon hydrogen, more storage and dispensing infrastructure, strict safety regimes and likely policy support because current costs are higher than electrification.