SHIMLA: Under the Hydrogen for Heritage Initiative, the trial run of India’s first hydrogen-run Toy Train on the Kalka-Shimla UNESCO’s heritage track has made a start today. But the Toy train Hydrogen engine conked out after four kilometer uphill from Kalka.
The trial run of the train was aimed at converting the track into a green train track by reducing the carbon footprints and emission of particulate matter on the heritage track.
The trial run failed on Friday as the green hydrogen-run toy train conked out after running for four kilometers uphill from Kalka.
"It has shattred or put on hold the dream of the Indian Railways for the time being to make the heritage track green by running the hydrogen train for the first time".
Northern Indian railways has run the trial run with much fanfare, hoping to provide hassle-free green journey to the tourists on the vintage Kalka-Shimla railway track this season.
But its dream of green toy train has come to a halt for the time being. Indian Railways has sought to ascertain the exact reasons as to why the hydrogen- run engine of toy train conked out after four km.
Indian railways has launched the "Hydrogen for Heritage" project in the hill heritage tracks to run 35 hydrogen heritage trains in the country in its bid to reduce the carbon foot prints and Particulate Matter emissions on the Heritage tracks in the country.
The Indian railways has awarded the project to develop the hydrogen fuel cell technology to the Hyderabad-based company by upgrading the existing diesel-run train on the Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge.
The hydrogen- run train can recover the cost in two years time and save operational cost by Rs 2.3 crore every year, said the engineers.
Each route costs Rs 80 Crore. Out of this, the railways hast to spend Rs 70 Crore on conversion of infrastructure to fit the hydrogen-run trains.
The Northern railways is perhaps the first to go for the trial run on March 17, but it has failed for the time being, with reasons best known to the company engineers.
The Japan is the first to test and run the hydrogen trains in the world, but it has yet to launch the project commercially.
