India's first dual-fuel LNG train rolled out of Sabarmati on Sunday, 27 September 2026 — a debut that Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel called a historic milestone in the state's development journey. Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah flagged off the train and inaugurated a cluster of railway projects worth ₹1,542 crore at the Sabarmati site in Ahmedabad.

In a post on X, CM Patel described the occasion as 'ગુજરાતની વિકાસયાત્રામાં વધુ એક ઐતિહાસિક સોપાન' — 'yet another historic milestone in Gujarat's journey of development.' He highlighted that the LNG train embodies a vision of harmonising 'economy and ecology,' signalling a clean-energy push inside one of India's busiest rail networks.

India's First Dual-Fuel LNG Train Departs Sabarmati

The dual-fuel LNG locomotive is a landmark for Indian Railways, which has long sought lower-emission traction options to complement its near-complete electrification drive. Liquefied Natural Gas burns cleaner than diesel and cuts carbon emissions substantially — making it attractive for routes or freight hauls where full electrification remains challenging. Saturday's flagging-off from Sabarmati puts a working demonstration on track, with operational performance data now the key watch point for policymakers and freight operators alike.

₹700 Crore WAG-12 Locomotive Shed and Smart Signalling Go Live

Beyond the LNG train, Shah dedicated two other major assets. A WAG-12 locomotive shed, built at a cost of ₹700 crore, is now operational — providing maintenance and stabling infrastructure for India's heaviest electric freight locomotives, the backbone of high-capacity goods movement on western corridors. Alongside it, a new Automatic Block Signalling (ABS) system was commissioned, replacing older manual-signal sections with continuous, technology-driven train management that boosts both throughput and safety.

The WAG-12 is a 12,000-horsepower electric locomotive jointly developed for Indian Railways to haul heavy freight. A dedicated shed in Gujarat, sitting at the heart of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor zone, ensures faster turnarounds and reduced downtime for the locomotives most critical to industrial supply chains running through the state.

Gujarat's Industrial Weight Draws Repeated Central Rail Investment

This is not the first time Sabarmati has been at the centre of a major rail upgrade. The station itself is part of the Amrit Bharat Stations Scheme, launched in 2023, which targets comprehensive redevelopment of hundreds of stations across India. Gujarat's outsized industrial base — from petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals to textiles and ports — makes its freight and passenger corridors strategically critical, drawing sustained central attention and capital.

Amit Shah's presence at the launch carries political weight too: as a long-standing Gujarat leader now anchoring national infrastructure rollouts in his home state, the event underscores the BJP's dual messaging of development delivery and regional pride ahead of any electoral cycle. CM Patel framed the projects explicitly as proof of the government's 'unbroken commitment' to clean-green energy and smart infrastructure.

Three distinct upgrades in a single day — a clean-fuel train first, a freight locomotive hub, and digital signalling — amounts to a compressed demonstration of Indian Railways' modernisation agenda. Whether the LNG pilot scales or stays a showcase, the Sabarmati launches move the needle on at least two fronts: capacity and cleaner traction. Gujarat's railways, it seems, are being asked to do more, move faster, and emit less — all at once.