Environment and Sustainability, Passenger Rail, Rolling stock & Rail Vehicle Design

Tests of hydrogen-powered train underway in Netherlands

The Netherlands has become the second country in Europe to run a hydrogen fuel cell train from rollingstock manufacturer Alstom.

The Coradia iLint will travel on 65km of track between Groningen and Leeuwarden, and will be the next location, after the Buxtehude–Bremervörde–Bremerhaven–Cuxhaven line in Germany, where hydrogen-powered trains will operate.

Ten days of testing have already been conducted in the Netherlands, and the trial follows the agreement signed last October between Alstom, the Province of Groningen, operator Arrive, Dutch railway infrastructure manager ProRail, and energy company Engie.

Hydrogen-powered trains are currently travelling at night without passengers at speeds of up to 140km/h.

The hydrogen supplied to the trains is ‘green’ hydrogen, produced with renewable energy supplied by Engie.

“The tests in the Netherlands demonstrate how our hydrogen train is mature in terms of availability and reliability, providing the same performance as traditional regional trains, but with the benefit of low noise and zero emissions. It is also easy to integrate in an existing fleet and is compliant with all safety regulations,” said Bernard Belvaux, managing director, Alstom Benelux.

Running on hydrogen means that the trains’ only emissions are water. The fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen into electricity to drive the train and the Coradia iLint is designed for sections of track that, lacking electrification, have had to be operated by diesel-powered trains. With equivalent performance as a traditionally-powered train set, the vehicle has a range of roughly 1,000km.

“The Coradia iLint hydrogen train is a reliable emission-free train ready to help transport us to a carbon-neutral Europe,” said Belvaux.