The Ballard-powered NaMo Green Rail has entered passenger service on the Jind–Sonipat corridor, marking an important milestone for hydrogen rail
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India’s first hydrogen fuel cell passenger train has entered regular service, marking a significant step in the country’s transition toward cleaner rail mobility. The NaMo Green Rail was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Jind, Haryana, on July 17, 2026, and began carrying fare-paying passengers on July 19. Operated by Northern Railway, it serves the 89km Jind–Gohana–Sonipat corridor and is powered by Ballard.
NaMo Green Rail’s ten-car trainset is designed for the scale of India’s regional rail network, comprising two hydrogen driving power cars and eight trailer coaches. It can carry approximately 2,600 passengers, and is approved for operation at up to 75 km/h.
The train is supported by a purpose-built hydrogen production, storage, and refueling facility at Jind. The site includes a 1MW proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer designed to produce approximately 430kg of hydrogen per day, storage for nearly 3,000kg, and compression and dispensing equipment.
NaMo Green Rail completed 1,200km of zero-emission operations in its first week in passenger service
Ballard has supported the program through its partnership with technical system integrator Medha Servo Drives - with the companies initially announcing an order for eight 100kW FCmove®-HD+ fuel cell modules for Indian Railways’ first hydrogen train program in 2022.
Ballard's fuel cell delivers 800kW of power to the hydrogen train - and the module offers a durable, compact, and easy installation solution for system integrators and vehicle OEMs, backed by Ballard’s proven experience, unmatched product performance, and service quality promise.
The move from engineering and integration to passenger service is an important milestone for the project and a practical demonstration of how proven fuel cell technology can be adapted to demanding, high-capacity rail applications.
NaMo Green Rail's hydrogen system, with Ballard's FCmove®-HD+ fuel cell engines integrated
[images courtesy of Walia News Network]
Early operating data has been encouraging, with Indian Railways reporting that NaMo Green Rail had travelling more than 1,200km and displaced over 3,200 liters of diesel in its first week in service. While long-term performance data will provide greater clarity, these initial figures demonstrate why real-world deployment matters – allowing operators to validate reliability, maintenance, refueling and energy performance under daily passenger-service conditions, establishing improvement points and overall viability.
NaMo Green Rail is the result of collaboration across rolling-stock manufacturing, system integration, hydrogen infrastructure and fuel cell technology. Ballard’s participation on this landmark program with Medha advances zero-emission rail mobility in India – and the project provides operational experience that can inform future hydrogen rail deployments and supports the objectives of the country’s National Green Hydrogen Mission, which aims to cut approximately 50 million metric tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions and add roughly 125GW of clean energy capacity by 2030.