“India’s hydrogen train has a power capacity of three thousand two hundred horsepower and is among the most powerful and longest hydrogen-powered trains in the world.”
— Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India
India has entered the global arena of hydrogen rail, formally joining the select group of countries deploying hydrogen-powered passenger rail systems with the launch of its first indigenous hydrogen fuel cell train on the Jind–Sonipat section of Northern Railway. The project is a major milestone in the country's clean mobility roadmap and one of the first large-scale demonstrations of hydrogen fuel cell technology in India's transport sector.
Developed under the leadership of Indian Railways, with technical specifications prepared by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), the train is entirely designed, engineered, and integrated in India, reflecting the country's growing capabilities in advanced railway engineering and hydrogen technologies.
What the Train Looks Like
The train has 10 coaches and can carry around 2,600 passengers. It will begin service on the 89-km Jind–Sonipat route in Haryana, running at speeds of up to 75 km/h (with a design speed of 110 km/h). At the heart of the train is a 1,200-kW hydrogen fuel cell system, making it one of the most powerful hydrogen passenger trains built anywhere so far.
Instead of drawing power from overhead wires or burning diesel, the train generates its own electricity onboard. Hydrogen combines with oxygen from the air inside a fuel cell, producing electricity. The only by-products are water vapour and heat—no exhaust, no soot, and no emissions from the train itself.
Keeping It Safe
Running hydrogen trains at scale requires an entirely new layer of safety and operational systems. Indian Railways has established real-time monitoring of the train's systems, trained specialised staff to operate and maintain it, and developed a dedicated hydrogen maintenance facility at Shakurbasti in Delhi. Refuelling operations are supervised around the clock, and the entire system follows international best-practice standards for hydrogen safety.
Why This Matters for India's Hydrogen Economy
Hydrogen-powered trains are currently operational or under demonstration in countries including Germany, Japan, China, and the United States. With this launch, India joins that group and introduces one of the largest-capacity hydrogen passenger trainsets in the world, well beyond the two- or three-coach configurations typically deployed elsewhere.
India's broad-gauge railway network is already more than 99% electrified, so hydrogen trains are expected to add strategic value on non-electrified routes, regional services, and other segments where conventional electrification is economically challenging. Just as importantly, the project functions as a national demonstration platform for validating hydrogen production, storage, transport, refuelling, safety systems, and maintenance practices at commercial scale.
The initiative also supports the goals of the National Green Hydrogen Mission, strengthening India's capabilities across hydrogen infrastructure, manufacturing, safety standards, and indigenous technology development.
As hydrogen applications expand into steel, refining, chemicals, heavy mobility, shipping, and aviation, programmes like this hydrogen rail project will help build the technical expertise, regulatory frameworks, and operational experience needed for a competitive hydrogen economy.
India's first hydrogen-powered train is, in that sense, more than a clean mobility milestone—it is a systems-level demonstration laying the groundwork for hydrogen deployment across multiple sectors of the economy.
