A railway line in Germany has become the first in the world to be operated solely by hydrogen-powered trains.

After four years of trials, 14 Coradia iLint trains built by Alstom have replaced 15 diesel trains on the route between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervörde, and Buxtehude.

The trains will be operated by evb on behalf of Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft

Niedersachsen (LNVG), had been seeking alternatives to diesel trains since 2012. Other partners in the project are the Elbe-Weser railways and transport company (evb) and the gas and engineering company Linde.

Coradia iLints have a range of 1,000 kilometres, and are emission-free in operation as they emit only steam and condensed water while in operation. On the evb network they will travel at speeds of 80 to 120 kilometres per hour, with a maximum speed of 140 kilometres per hour.

They can operate all day on a single tank of hydrogen, and will be fuelled at Linde’s hydrogen filling station in Bremervörde, which has 64 500-bar high-pressure storage tanks with a total capacity of 1,800 kg.

Last year Alstom received an award for its hydrogen-powered Coradia iLint train. They have also been trialled in Austria, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

As well as the LNVG contract, Alstom has orders for 27 Coradia iLint trains for the Frankfurt metropolitan area, six Coradia Stream hydrogen trains with the option for 8 more for Lombardy in Italy, and 12 Coradia Polyvalent hydrogen trains shared in four different French regions.

Henri Poupart-Lafarge, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Alstom, said:

“Emission-free mobility is one of the most important goals for ensuring a sustainable future and Alstom has a clear ambition to become the world leader in alternative propulsion systems for rail. The world’s first hydrogen train, the Coradia iLint, demonstrates our clear commitment to green mobility combined with state-of-the-art technology. We are very proud to bring this technology into series operation as part of a world premiere, together with our great partners.”

“Despite numerous electrification projects in several countries, a significant part of Europe’s rail network will remain non-electrified in the long term. In many countries, the number of diesel trains in circulation is still high, with more than 4,000 cars in Germany, for instance.”