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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5425
TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026
HYDROGEN-POWERED TRAIN
5425. SHRI JAI PRAKASH:
SHRI DHARAMBIR SINGH:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has assessed the ongoing trials of Country’s
first indigenously designed and manufactured “Hydrogen-powered
train", a key initiative under the “Hydrogen for Heritage” project in order
to meet net-zero carbon emission targets by the year 2030 and if so, the
details thereof;
(b) the timeline by when the Hydrogen-powered train is likely to be started;
(c) the progress made on introduction of Vande Bharat Sleeper trains;
(d) the details of the steps taken to improve passenger amenities and
reduce travel time on major corridors;
(e) the details of the number of new railway lines and doubling projects
sanctioned during the last three years; and
(f) whether the Government proposes to strengthen railway connectivity or
introduce new railway projects benefiting Bhiwani–Mahendergarh
region of Haryana and if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) & (b) Indian Railways (IR) has taken up a state-of-the-art project for
running of its first hydrogen train, on pilot basis, as per specifications
framed by the Research, Design & Standards Organization (RDSO) to
demonstrate the use of hydrogen powered train technology in Railways.
The project establishes the commitment of IR towards advancements in
§ Page 1 of 13alternative energy-powered train travel thereby ensuring a cleaner and
greener future for the country’s transportation sector in order to meet net-
zero carbon emission targets of IR.
This project involved designing from first stages, prototype manufacturing
and first-time development of hydrogen traction technology in Indian
Railways. Manufacturing of Hydrogen Train-set has been completed.
Prominent features of Hydrogen Train-set are as below:
Designed and Developed in India demonstrating IR’s commitment to
Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Presently, it is the world’s longest (10 coaches) and most powerful
(2400 kW) Hydrogen Train-set on Broad Gauge platform.
The train-set comprises of two Driving Power Cars (DPCs) of 1200 kW
each, totalling 2400 kW along with eight passenger cars.
Zero CO2 emissions; only emission is water vapour.
Major step in development of next generation fuel technology in
Railways.
(c) IR is focussed on providing affordable and good quality services to all
sections of society. With a view to improve travel experience of the
passengers, IR have introduced indigenously designed and manufactured
Vande Bharat Sleeper train services with modern coaches, advanced
safety features and passenger amenities. Presently, 02 Vande Bharat
Sleeper services are in operation on the Indian Railway network.
Broad technological advancements and Safety features, provided in Vande
Bharat Sleeper Trains are as below:
1. Jerk Free Semi permanent couplers and Anti Climbers.
2. Fitted with KAVACH.
3. Higher acceleration with design/operating speed of 180/160 KMPH.
4. Crashworthy Design of Car body complying with EN standards.
Page 2 of 135. Fire barrier doors at the end of each coach for compliance of fire
safety standards.
6. Aerosol based fire detection and suppression system in electrical
cabinets and lavatories.
7. Regenerative braking system for energy efficiency.
8. Air conditioning units provided with indigenously developed UV-C
lamp-based disinfection system for deactivating 99% harmful bacteria from
conditioned air to improve the hygiene standards inside the passenger
area.
9. Centrally controlled Automatic Plug Doors and Fully sealed wider
gangways.
10. CCTVs in all coaches.
11. Emergency talk-back unit for communication between Passenger and
Train Manager/Loco Pilot in case of emergency.
12. For Divyangjan passengers, special lavatory in the driving coaches on
each end
13. Centralized Coach Monitoring System for better condition monitoring
of passenger amenities such as Air conditioning, Saloon Lighting etc.
14. Ergonomically designed ladder for ease of climbing on to upper
berths.
(d) Upgradation of passenger amenities is a continuous process depending
upon need, volume of the passenger traffic and inter-se priority of work,
subject to availability of funds. IR has taken several measures for
enhanced passenger amenities like modernization of stations under ‘Amrit
Bharat Station’ scheme and upgradation of coaches with modern
passenger facilities, deployment of digital platforms for grievance
redressal/ monitoring, improvement in onboard services, infrastructure
augmentation, advanced signalling systems and rationalisation of
timetables.
Page 3 of 13(e) & (f) Capacity enhancement of railway network has been taken up by
Indian Railways in a big way during last 11 years. The details of
commissioning/laying of new track across Indian Railways is given below:-
New track
Period Average commissioning of new tracks
Commissioned
2009-14 7,599 Km 4.2 Km/day
2014-25 34,428 Km 8.6 Km/day (more than 2 times)
As on 01.04.2025, across Indian Railways, 431 Railway infrastructure
projects including port-connectivity (154 New Line, 33 Gauge Conversion
and 244 Doubling) of total length 35,966 Km, costing approx. Rs. 6.75 lakh
crore are sanctioned. The summary is as under:-
Total Length
Total Expupto
No of Length Commissioned
Category Mar'25
Projects NL/GC/DL till Mar'25
(Rs. in Cr)
(km) (Km)
New Lines 154 16,142 3,036 1,45,318
Gauge
33 4,180 2,997 22,753
Conversion
Doubling /
244 15,644 6,736 1,22,858
Multitracking
Total 431 35,966 12,769 2,90,929
Zone-wise/year-wise details of all Railway projects are made available in
public domain on Indian Railway’s website.
During last 3 years (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25) and current Financial Year
2025-26, 300 projects (51 New Line, 17 Gauge Conversion and 232
Page 4 of 13Doubling) of a total length of 13,808 km have been sanctioned across
Indian Railways.
Some of the major projects sanctioned are as follows:
SN Project Name Cost
(₹ in
Crore)
1 Chopan – Chunar doubling (102 Km) 1,553
2 Guntur – Bibinagar doubling (239 Km) 3,238
3 Mudkhed – Medchal& Mahbubnagar – Dhone doubling 5,655
(418 Km)
4 Samakhiali – Gandhidham Quadrupling (53 Km) 1,571
5 Merta City – Ras& Bypass at Merta Road new line (56 1,038
Km)
6 Lumding – Furkating doubling (140 Km) 2,334
7 Ajmer – Chanderiya doubling (178 Km) 1,813
8 Motumari – Vishnupuram with RoR doubling (100 Km) 1,746
9 Bikramshila – Katareah new line with new bridge on river 2,549
ganga (26 Km)
10 Gunupur – Therubali new line (74 Km) 1,326
11 Malkangiri – Pandurangapuram new line (174 Km) 4,109
12 Badampahar – Kendujhargarh new line (82 Km) 2,106
13 Junagarh – Nabarangpur new line (116 Km) 3,274
14 Buramara – Chakulia new line (60 Km) 1,639
Page 5 of 13SN Project Name Cost
(₹ in
Crore)
15 Ajanta Caves Rail Connectivity (174 Km) 7,105
16 Bangriposi – Gorumahisani new line (86 Km) 2,549
17 Chandil – Anara – Damodar 3rd line (121 Km) 2,170
18 Bargarh Road – Nawapara Road new line (138 Km) 2,926
19 Sardega – Bhalumuda new double line (37 Km) 1,360
20 Varanasi – Pt. DeenDayalUpadhyayaMultitracking with 2,642
rail cum road bridge on river ganga (15 Km)
21 Jalgaon – Manmad 4th line (160 Km) 2,773
22 Bhusawal – Khandwa 3rd & 4th line (131 Km) 3,514
23 Sambalpur – Jarapada 3rd & 4th line (127 Km) 3,916
24 Jharsuguda – Sason 3rd & 4th line (35 Km) 1,181
25 Gondia – Ballarshah doubling (240 Km) 4,819
26 Kharsia – Naya Raipur – Parmalkasa 5th & 6th line (278 8,741
Km)
27 Wardha – Balharshah Quadrupling (135 Km) 2,381
28 Ballari – Chikjajur doubling (185 Km) 3,342
29 Koderma – Barkakana doubling (133 Km) 3,063
30 Itarsi – Nagpur 4th line (297 Km) 5,451
31 Dangoaposi – Jaroli 3rd & 4th line (43 Km) 1,752
32 Secunderabad – Wadi 3rd & 4th line (173 Km) 5,012
Page 6 of 13SN Project Name Cost
(₹ in
Crore)
33 Furkating – New Tinsukia doubling (194 Km) 3,634
34 Bakhtiyarpur – Rajgir – Tilaiya doubling (104 Km) 2,192
35 Gondia – Dongargarh 4th line (84 Km) 2,223
36 Wardha – Bhusawal 3rd & 4th line (314 Km) 9,197
37 Hosapete – Bellary quadrupling (65 Km) 2,372
38 Kasara – Manmad 3rd & 4th line (131 Km) 10,154
39 Punarakh – Kiul 3rd & 4th line (50 Km) 2,668
40 Gamharia – Chandil 3rd & 4th line (55 Km) 1,168
41 Sainthia- Pakhur 4th Line (81 Km) 1,569
42 Santragachi- Kharagpur 4th line (111 Km) 2,905
43 Nergundi – Barang&Khurda Road – Vizianagaram 3rd line 5,618
(385 Km)
44 Son Nagar – Andal Multi tracking (375 Km) 13,606
45 Gorakhpur Cantt – Valmiki Nagar doubling (96 Km) 1,270
46 Jaipur – SawaiMadhopur doubling (131 Km) 1,269
47 Luni – Samdari – Bhildi doubling (272 Km) 3,531
48 Narkatiaganj – Raxaul – Sitamarhi – 4,553
Darbhanga&Sitamarhi – Muzaffarpur doubling (256 Km)
49 Prayagraj (Iradatganj) – Manikpur 3rd line (84 Km) 1,640
50 Tirupati – Pakala – Katpadi doubling (104 Km) 1,332
Page 7 of 13SN Project Name Cost
(₹ in
Crore)
51 Ratlam – Nagda 3rd and 4th line (41 Km) 1,018
52 Aluabari Road – New Jalpaiguri 3rd & 4th line (57 Km) 1,786
53 Aurangabad (ChhatrapatiSambhajinagar) – Parbhani (177 2,179
Km)
54 Bhagalpur – Dumka – Rampurhat doubling (177 Km) 3,169
55 Itarsi – Bina 4th line (237 Km) 4,329
56 Vadodara – Ratlam 3rd & 4th line (259 Km) 8,885
57 DevbhumiDwarka (Okha) – Kanalus doubling (141 Km) 1,457
58 Badlapur – Karjat 3rd and 4th line (32 Km) 1,324
59 Delhi – Ambala Cantt 3rd & 4th line (194 Km) 5,983
60 Gondia – Jabalpur doubling (231 Km) 5,236
61 Manmad – Indore new line (360 Km) 18,529
62 Errupelam – Amaravati – Nambur new line (57 Km) 2,245
63 Vadhavan Port and New Palghar station new double line 1,507
(22 Km)
64 Deshalpar – Hajipir – Luna and Vayor – Lakhpat new line 2,526
(145 Km)
Page 8 of 13Haryana
Railway Budget:
Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects and safety works, falling
fully/partly in the State of Haryana is as under:
Period Outlay
2009-14 ₹315 crore/year
2025-26 ₹ 3,416 Cr. (nearly 11 times)
Projects sanctioned:
As on 01.04.2025, 8 projects (01 New Lines and 07 Doubling), covering a
total length of 491 km, costing ₹6775 crore, falling fully/partly in Haryana
are sanctioned. The summary is as under:
Category No. of Total Length Expenditure
projects Length Commissioned upto March
(in Km) (in Km) 2025
(₹ in Cr)
New Lines 1 28 0 925
Doubling / 7 463 0 646
Multitracking
Total 8 491 0 1571
Recently completed projects:
Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in the
State of Haryana are as under:
Page 9 of 13Cost
S. No. Project
(Rs. in Cr.)
1 Jind-Sonepat New Line (89 Km) 800
Suratpura-Hanumangarh-Sriganganagar Gauge
2 896
Conversion (241 Km)
Jaipur-Ringus-Sikar-Churu& Sikar-Loharu Gauge
3 1105
Conversion (320 Km)
4 Jakhal- Mansa Doubling (45 Km) 163
5 Khukhrana- Panipat Doubling (8 Km) 58
6 Ambala-Dhapper-chandigarh Doubling (45 Km) 339
7 Tughlakhabad-Palwal 4th line (34 Km) 366
8 Mathura – Palwal 4th Line (80 Km) 669
9 Palwal - New Prithala New Line (10 Km) 66
Ongoing projects:
Some of the projects falling fully/partly in the State of Haryana which have
been taken up are as under:
SN. Project Cost
(Rs. in Cr.)
1 Bhiwani-Dobh-Bahali Doubling (42 Km) 471
2 Rewari-Khatuwas Doubling (28 Km) 352
3 Manheru-BawaniKhera Doubling (32 Km) 413
4 Delhi-Panipat- Ambala 3rd& 4th line (194 Km) 5983
Bhiwani and Mahendragarh are existing railway stations on Indian Railway
Network and connected via Rewari. To further imporve connectivity in this
area, following works have been completed/ taken up :
Page 10 of 13S. No. Project Status
Rewari-Rohtak New Line
1 commissioned
(85 Km)
Rohtak-Mehem-Hansi
2 commissioned
New Line (64 Km)
Rewari-Manheru Doubling
3 commissioned
(69 Km)
Khatuwas-Narnaul
4 commissioned
Doubling (24 km)
A. Kund-Kathuwas (5 km) commissioned.
B. Rewari-Kori-Pali-Kund-Kori (23 km):
The status is as under:
Rewari-Khatuwas Land acquisition completed
5
Doubling (28 km) Works taken up on all 2 major
bridges
Works taken up on all 3 RUBs
Works completed on all 3 Station
Buildings
A. Dobh-Kalanur Kalan (13 km)
commissioned.
B. Kalanur Kalan-Bhiwani City-
BhiwaniJn (29 km).The status is as
Bhiwani-Dobh-Bhali
under:
6
doubling (42 km)
Land acquisition work taken up.
Work taken up on 1 Major Bridge.
Works completed on all 2 Station
Buildings.
Page 11 of 13S. No. Project Status
A. Manheru-Bhiwani Jn.(14 km)
commissioned.
B. BhiwaniJn -BhiwaniKhera (18 km):
The status is as under:
Manheru-BhiwaniKhera
7
Doubling (32 km) Land Acquisition work taken up.
Works taken up on all 4 RUBs
Works completed on all 03 Station
Buildings.
Rewari - Sadulpur
DPR prepared
8
Doubling (141 km)
Jhajjar-CharkhiDadri-
Survey sanctioned
9
Loharu New Line (94 km)
Bhiwani-Hansi Doubling
Survey sanctioned
10
(37km)
After preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR), sanctioning of project
requires consultation with various stake-holders including State
Governments and necessary approvals viz. appraisal of NITI Aayog,
Ministry of Finance etc. As sanctioning of projects is a continuous and
dynamic process, exact timelines depend upon appraisals and approvals by
various stakeholders.
Sanction of any railway project depends upon many parameters/factors
which include the following:
Anticipated traffic projections and Remunerativeness of the proposed
route
First and last mile connectivity provided by the project
Page 12 of 13 Connection of missing links and providing additional route
Augmentation of congested/saturated lines
Demands raised by State Governments/Central Ministries/Public
representatives,
Railway’s own operational requirements
Socio-economic considerations
Overall availability of funds
Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include
the following:
Land acquisition by State Government
Forest clearance
Shifting of infringing utilities
Statutory clearances from various authorities
Geological and topographical conditions of area
Law and order situation in the area of project site
Number of working months in a year for particular project site etc.
All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project/s.
*****
Page 13 of 13