Punjab, Sept. 27 -- India's first LNG-powered train was flagged off from Sabarmati on Sunday by Home Minister Amit Shah, alongside Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. It runs Sabarmati to Mehsana, and the engines can burn either LNG or diesel.
What was actually built
Two Driving Power Cars of 1,400 HP each were converted to an LNG-diesel dual-fuel system. Both have completed more than 2,000 km of field trials.
The service is an eight-coach non-AC chair car DEMU, running initially between Sabarmati and Mehsana.
Why dual-fuel is the important word
This is a conversion, not a new locomotive. The same engine runs on LNG when it is available and on diesel when it is not.
That matters because the constraint on gas-powered rail has never...