Calls it successful example of Make in India campaign
JIND (HARYANA), JUL 17 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off India’s first hydrogen-powered train connecting Jind and Sonipat in Haryana, calling it a major leap towards green mobility and a successful example of the ‘Make in India’ campaign.
With this, India has joined a select group of countries that have operational hydrogen-powered trains and marks an important step towards the adoption of clean and sustainable mobility in the railway sector.
After flagging off the train from Jind, the prime minister also dedicated to the nation and laid foundation stone of various development projects worth Rs 14,700 crore.
Modi said the hydrogen-powered train is a proud symbol of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and our commitment to cleaner, future-ready transportation. Today, Indian Railways has taken a major step and this is the world’s most powerful hydrogen train, he said addressing a public gathering later.
The 89-km distance between Jind and Sonipat will be covered in two hours.
Modi also took a veiled dig at the previous Congress-led UPA government, saying had the situation due to West Asia conflict arisen before 2014, the work of Indian Railways would have come to a standstill as trains in large parts of the country used to run mainly on diesel.
He said Indian Railways has taken a big step in this 21st century technology as only three to four countries have the capability of running hydrogen-powered train. This train has 3200 horsepower and it is not only the most powerful, but also the longest one (10 coaches), Modi said.
“Names of Jind, Sonipat and Haryana will come up whenever there is mention of hydrogen train, I congratulate the entire country,” he added. In his speech, Railway Minister Vaishnaw testing is underway in the Sonipat-Delhi section and this train will then go from Jind to Delhi. The train is powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology, which converts hydrogen into electricity to propel the train.