Hydrogen trains will run in India by 2023, Indian Railways will also start the Vande Metro train: Ashwini Vaishnav

Railways are building the Vande Metro train which will replace the Metro train designed in the 1950s and 60s. Railway and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnav gave this information on Sunday. He also said that the first indigenously designed and manufactured hydrogen train will be rolled out in December 2023. "We are designing and the design should come by May or June. We are designing a world-class Vande Metro, which will be a big leap," Vaishnav told reporters during an interaction. "These Vande Metro trains will be manufactured in such large numbers that all 1950s and 1960s design trains across the country will be replaced," he added.

Vaishnav refused to privatize railways

Central Government, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi focuses on middle and lower-class people who are not able to spend. Vaishnav said that the Prime Minister wants the Railways to bring about a big transformational change in the lives of every Indian. Responding to a question on hydrogen-based trains, the minister said that like Vande Bharat, Indian engineers are designing it. "The design process is already underway and we should be able to launch the first hydrogen train in the country by December 2023," he added.

Vaishnav ruled out the privatization of railways, saying, "Railways is a strategic sector and it will remain with the government." The Union Minister said that the Railways is working on the Vande Bharat-3 design, which will also have a sleeper class. These trains will also be used for long journeys. Currently, the Railways is building 12 km of railway tracks a day, which used to be only four km per day during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government from 2004 to 2014.

The minister said that next year, the railways will achieve the target of laying 16 km to 17 km of track a day, though the prime minister has set a target of laying 20 km of railway lines. Vaishnav accused Congress and the JD(S) of not doing much for Karnataka. According to him, during the UPA regime, the state used to get an allocation of Rs 835 crore while at present it is getting Rs 6,091 crore. Speaking about acquiring new technologies, the Union Minister said that Railways has started a new startup initiative.

“Around 800 startups applied and 50 of them were shortlisted. Now we will support these startups from the idea to the product stage. Once the product is successful, we will fund them for four years and nurture them for four years So that they can really stabilize and use those products within the railways first, and then they'll be able to take those products globally."

Regarding the construction of the bullet train corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, he said that it is going on at full speed. Vaishnav claimed that the technology of bullet train operation is so complex considering the vibrations it creates, but that Indian engineers have mastered the technology. After the successful completion of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor, the Railways will take up 11 or 12 more corridors in the country.

Also Read: Vande Bharat: Stones pelted on Vande Bharat in Chhattisgarh, window glass is broken, train started four days ago