A world railway first in Germany: the first hydrogen trains without harmful emissions were put into service on a small regional line this Wednesday, August 24, 2022. They were produced by the French company Alstom, which won numerous contracts on a promising market.
With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibault
Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Buxtehude: the cities served by the five hydrogen trains are not very well known and for good reason: it is a regional line of 126 kilometers, in the north of Germany, near Hamburg, where this world first was launched this Wednesday. The fleet must have a total of 14 trains and replace 15 diesel locomotives producing 4,400 tonnes of CO2 per year, according to the operator.
Hydrogen trains should contribute to the decarbonisation of rail and be used above all on small regional lines which have not been electrified due to the excessive cost of the works. In Germany, 20% of the rail network is operated with diesel locomotives and one out of two trains is affected in Europe.
New trains from the manufacturer Alstom are in demand. Other contracts have already been signed in Germany, France and Italy. The German Siemens presented a prototype in the spring, and wants to put it into service in two years.
This technology of the future will not be able to impose itself quickly everywhere, even if other sectors, in particular heavy industry, want to use hydrogen in the future to reduce their CO2 emissions.
►To listen: Hydrogen plan: “A simple and completely virtuous process”