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NEW DELHI: India is to get its first hydrogen train by December 2023 which will be indigenously manufactured. According to an announcement made by Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, Government of India, the train will initially be run on heritage circuits like Kalka-Shimla.
Vaishnaw highlighted the developments in the railway sector and mentioned that a mini version of the Vande Bharat Express trains, to be known as Vande Metro, is also being developed. Vande Metro will help people to commute to and fro between their place of work and hometowns. The design and production of Vande Metro will be completed this year and in the next financial year, “a ramp-up of production of the train will be done.”
Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister, Government of India, announced ₹2.4 lakh crore for the Indian Railways while presenting the Union Budget 2023-24. She mentioned that “This highest ever outlay is about nine times the outlay made in 2013-14.”
Sitharaman added that with an investment of ₹75,000 crore, including ₹15,000 crore from private sources, 100 critical transport infrastructure projects including projects for last-mile connectivity for coal, steel, ports, fertilizer, and food grain sectors and will be taken up on a priority basis.
Vaishnaw stated, “The lack of investment in Railways for years had hindered it from achieving its potential. This ₹2.41 lakh crore capital will bridge that gap. This will become a medium to fulfill the aspirations of our 800 crore passengers who travel in railways.”