In a world where wonder never ceases, Germany has launched the world’s first-ever railway line powered by hydrogen. The passenger trains will start their operations in the European nation’s Lower Saxony region. Coradia iLint will introduce a total of five units. These are scheduled to be operational by the end of the year.
The hydrogen railway line will run between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervorde, and Buxtehude. It is scheduled to replace 15 diesel trains. As per media reports, the trains are developed by LVNG—a German state subsidiary and French manufacturer Alstom under an agreement worth 93 million euros (INR 741 crore).
The train can run for an entire day on a single tank of hydrogen and cover a distance of 1,000 kilometers. However, a filling station has been installed at Linde. At a top speed of 140 kmph, it is quite less compared to the regular speed, which is 80-120 kmph.
By keeping the environment and sustainability in mind, the trains are emission-free. They only emit steam and condense water while they operate at a low level of noise.
Currently, Alstom has three contracts with Coradia iLint for a hydrogen fuel cell, which can help in generating electrical energy for propulsion. It includes Germany (27 units in the Frankfurt metropolitan area), Italy (six units in the Lombardy region) and France ( 12 units in four different regions).
After a two-year test run, which started in September 2018 and pre-series trains, the train was launched.
