The first hydrogen train will be presented in Prague, it will run around the Czech Republic for a week
Updates: 17.05.2022 00:18
Released: 17.05.2022, 00:18
Prague – The world’s first hydrogen train for passenger transport, the Coradia iLint, will be presented today on the Prague Railways. The train with almost zero emissions will continue in more than a dozen other cities in the country, ending on May 25 after the Czech Republic. According to experts, hydrogen-powered trains are one of the ecological variants of future operation, especially on regional railways.
Coradia iLint leaves the depot in Prague’s Michle at the main railway station in the morning. Today, the program also includes a demonstration ride to Vraný nad Vltavou and back. In the coming days, it will continue to other places in the Czech Republic as part of the so-called Coradia iLint Railshow, organized by Alstom and Czech Railways. We will stop, for example, in Česká Třebová, Olomouc, Ostrava, Hradec Králové, Liberec, Česká Lípa and other cities in the Czech Republic. The train will end in the Czech Republic in Ústí nad Labem.
The set is the first passenger train in the world powered by a hydrogen fuel cell that produces electricity for traction. According to Alstom, the only emissions that the train generates are steam and condensed water. The train can run on non-electrified lines. According to Alstom, it could be used mainly on regional lines without electrification. Hydrogen for transportation Coradia iLint will be supplied by Air Products, which will set aside a mobile hydrogen filling station for the train.
Alstom wants to introduce the train especially to carriers and authorities as an alternative for rail traffic in the future. Since 2018, hydrogen trains from Alstom have run in several European countries. According to the company, it is an alternative for 46 percent of the main lines in the EU that are not electrified.
Czech Railways is also counting on the use of hydrogen, as stated in the National Action Plan for Clean Mobility, which was approved by the government two years ago. In this context, the head of the state carrier Michal Krapinec pointed out that almost two thirds of the railway lines in the Czech Republic are not electrified. Trains still run on them in diesel traction. “If we want to provide public transport services to customers in the future, then we must look for an alternative to these trains. Hydrogen propulsion is a great hope, so we are glad that Alstom has chosen us as a partner in this presentation, and we can get to know this solution in great detail. at the same time, it gives us the opportunity to address public transport customers and show them a concrete example of zero-emission rail transport, “said Krapinec.