Paani wali rail chala di: How Haryana BJP is selling India's first hydrogen train

Published 17 July 2026 · politics

"Paani se chalti hai aur paryavaran mein paani hi chhodti hai... yeh hai Bharat ki sabse pehli aur duniya ki sabse shaktishali hydrogen train," says

"Paani se chalti hai aur paryavaran mein paani hi chhodti hai... yeh hai Bharat ki sabse pehli aur duniya ki sabse shaktishali hydrogen train," says a vlogger in a clip posted on the Haryana BJP's official X handle on Friday morning. The caption accompanying the video said, "Look, Narendra Modi has launched a train that runs on water, the country's first, from Jind to Sonipat..." Read Full Story While India's first indigenous hydrogen train is a technological milestone, the Haryana BJP's campaign has packaged the complex science into a simple, but scientifically misleading, claim that it runs on water. And this isn't the only such message from the BJP. And it's not the only such video that makes this claim. Over the past few days, the Haryana BJP has rolled out a coordinated campaign to promote India's first indigenously developed hydrogen fuel-cell train, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off on the Jind-Sonipat section on Friday. Using rustic and relatable pitches like "paani waali rail" and comparisons between "Congress-era" trains and the BJP-era hydrogen train, the party has turned the complex clean-energy pilot into an easy-to-comprehend message. As political communication, this is brilliant. Take an unfamiliar technology, reduce it to a phrase that travels and repeat it until people remember who delivered it. The price of this simplicity, however, is factual accuracy and at odds with the constitutional call for "promotion of scientific temper". But, that's the duty of the State, perhaps, not a political party. The train does not run on water. It's powered by hydrogen. But, at a time when energy security, cutting down on fossil-fuel dependence and green mobility dominate have been in the headlines, the "paani waali" messaging has been used as a powerful optics by the BJP in Haryana. Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, its Energy Minister Anil Vij and other senior Haryana BJP leaders have gone full throttle in pitching the hydrogen train as proof of the Modi government's technological and developmental record. Even in his speech at the inauguration ceremony in Jind on Friday, PM Modi said that the train was a symbol of India's emphasis on energy security, self-reliance, green energy, and India's technological leap.

Haryana Cabinet minister Mahipal Dhanda, along with supporters, even released a video of them cycling to the train's launch venue. Congress leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Deepender Singh Hooda welcomed the hydrogen train but stressed that the Jind-Gohana-Sonipat railway line was laid by the previous Congress government. WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT INDIA'S FIRST HYDROGEN TRAIN The 10-coach train consists of two Hydrogen Driving Power Cars and eight passenger coaches, with a capacity to carry around 2,600 passengers. It has been developed indigenously by Indian Railways under the technical guidance of the Lucknow-based Research Designs and Standards Organisation. The train is designed to operate between Jind and Sonipat, covering a nearly 89-km section of Northern Railway. After it was cleared for commercial operation at a maximum speed of 75 kmph (although its design speed is 110 kmph), PM Modi flagged it off on Friday. Each of its two power cars has a propulsion system rated at around 1,200 kilowatts, giving the train a combined output of 2,400 kW. Indian Railways describes it as the world's most powerful hydrogen train on its official website. The approximately Rs 141-crore project is a pilot through which Indian Railways will gain experience in producing, storing and refuelling hydrogen, maintaining fuel-cell systems and operating the technology under Indian weather and traffic conditions. A hydrogen production, storage and refuelling facility has been established at Jind. The train carries compressed hydrogen in high-pressure cylinders, while leak detectors, ventilation systems, flame detectors and automatic shut-off mechanisms have been installed to address the fuel's safety risks. However, its wider deployment will depend on costs, reliability and the availability of genuinely green hydrogen. VIDEO | Jind, Haryana: "'Yo Koi Sadharan Dharti Nahi Se’. This land is a land of history, valour, faith, and pride”, says PM Modi (@narendramodi) while addressing launch programme of multiple development projects. (Source: Third Party) (Full video available on PTI Videos - pic.twitter.com/00vSPkprWa— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 17, 2026 HOW HARYANA'S BJP GOVT INDIA'S FIRST HYDROGEN TRAIN Days before the inauguration on Friday, the Haryana BJP began building the launch into a political messaging tool. While the BJP Haryana leadership has not used the "paani waali" pitch, they have used the train to highlight the government's emphasis on energy security, self-reliance and India's technological leap.