BHEL considers making hydrogen loco
Transportation authorities are now evaluating multiple public transport options including monorail, light rail transport solutions (advanced form of tram systems), trams that can run on tyres or buses that can draw power from overhead electricals; ropeways among others apart from Metro.
This is being done as not all cities can (financially) sustain a Metro rail system, Dr Deepak Tripathi, Director (Technical), RITES, a Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways.
The government had issued a policy guideline that cities should study other transport options before they adopt Metro rail system, Dr Tripathi said at the third edition of CII Rail Connect on 20 March in New Delhi.
“All modes of public transport must function in an integrated manner rather than in isolation. The state government, city government, and central government should work together to ensure seamless coordination” he elaborated, adding that while devising transport solutions, we have to keep in mind whether the population of India will grow, remain stable or go down.
Hydrogen train is one such innovative transport solution BHEL, India’s largest engineering and manufacturing public sector enterprise, is betting on. “For 200-300 km distance, hydrogen trains are viable” said Sanjay Goel, ED (Transportation), BHEL.
BHEL, which had bid for Indian Railways’ tender to make 35 locos that can run on hydrogen, is also in talks with several power plants (who use locomotives) to consider making hydrogen loco of 2000 HP, he added.
Indian Railways is set to do a pilot project for hydrogen train soon.
“We need commuter and suburban services operating on the principles of high speed, high acceleration, high deceleration, and multiple stoppages,” said Sachin Bhanushali, Ex-Chairman, CII Rail Transportation Committee, and Railway and Intermodal Freight Expert.
A dedicated inter-city transportation network must be created to cater to both business and personal travel needs, with half-hourly or hourly services based on statistical demand analysis for each segment, he added.
He also emphasised on the inter-modal network as a solution to move freight that connects hundreds of production and consumption points.
To cater to the higher demand of cargo movement for various purposes, an intermodal solution comprising road-rail-road is the “best fit” in my opinion, said Bhanushali.
Simply put, for products that can be moved (in containers) over intermodal network, using road transport mode for last-mile movement at both ends of a cargo’s journey; and using railways for long haul transportation is expected to be the ideal solution, added Bhanushali. Fiinews.com
