Indian Railways has successfully tested a hydrogen-powered locomotive, the nation’s first such initiative, at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, according to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Vaishnaw announced the milestone on social media, stating: “First hydrogen-powered coach (Driving Power Car) successfully tested at ICF, Chennai.

“India is developing a 1,200HP hydrogen train. This will place India among the leaders in hydrogen-powered train technology.”

The hydrogen locomotive is a key part of Indian Railways' “Hydrogen for Heritage” initiative, which aims to deploy 35 hydrogen-powered trains on heritage and hill routes across the country.

The estimated cost for each train is approximately Rs800m ($9.24m), with an additional Rs700m required for supporting ground infrastructure per route.

Indian Railways has embarked on a pilot project to retrofit an existing Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) with a hydrogen fuel cell.

The initiative, which encompasses the establishment of ground infrastructure, is being executed with an investment of Rs1.1bn and is scheduled to operate along the Jind–Sonipat route within the Northern Railway network.

Initial assessments indicate that running hydrogen-fuelled trains in India may incur greater expenses, but these costs are anticipated to fall as the number of hydrogen-powered trains increases.

The use of hydrogen as a fuel is a key component of India's strategy to shift towards cleaner energy, given its advantage of producing no carbon emissions.

Indian Railways has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) to implement an AI-based train safety system.

This system aims to enhance the monitoring of rolling stock health, signalling a move towards advanced technology integration for service efficiency and maintenance automation.