The Indian Railways will design and make hydrogen-fuelled trains in India by December and run them on heritage circuits such as Lonavla, Ooty, Kalka-Shimla and Darjeeling, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told CNBC-TV18 on Wednesday, announcing major development plans for the national transporter.

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Vaishnaw also said that the ministry is working on plans to set up coach manufacturing plants at Maharashtra’s Latur, Haryana’s Sonepat and UP’s Rae Bareli. This is in addition to the current coach manufacturing plant at ICF Chennai.

“Addition of close to 300 million tonnes as additional cargo has helped us break even,” he said, adding that this money is now used for operational expenses. For capital expenditure, it is dependent on government funding.

The news came on a day when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Rs 2.4 lakh crore allocation for the Railways in the Budget 2023.

Noting that the coming two years will be turning points for Railways, Vaishnaw said that India will soon start exporting railways technology.

On the electronics sector, Vaishnaw said the Budget announcement is very conducive for electronic manufacturing.

The government has reduced duties on mobile phone lens. India will soon become a top manufacturer and exporter of mobile phones, he said, adding that mobile phones will be soon among top 10 commodities to be exported from India.

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(Edited by : Pradeep John)

First Published:Feb 1, 2023 7:50 PM IST