Berlin: The world’s first railway line powered entirely by hydrogen has been launched in Germany, with passenger trains operating in the Lower Saxony region.
The service was opened for the public after a two-year test run, which began in September 2018.
Five units of Coradia iLint – world’s first train to be powered by hydrogen – are being used for starters.
A total of 14 units will replace 15 diesel trains on the route, with each of these expected to be operational by the end of 2022.
The trains have been developed by French manufacturer Alstom, which has signed an agreement with German state subsidiary LVNG. The agreement is worth 93 million euros (Rs 741 crore), according to a CNN report.
The Coradia iLint, with a range of 1,000 kilometres, can operate on this route for an entire day with just one tank of hydrogen. As a back-up, a filling station has been set up on this route.
These are emission-free trains, emiting only steam and condensed water, and operate with a low level of noise.
The top speed of these trains is 140 kmph.
Alstom has three more contracts for Coradia iLint trains – a second one in Germany (27 units for Frankfurt metropolitan area), and one each in Italy (6 units in Lombardy region) and France (12 units across four different regions).
