The Coradia iLint hydrogen train will carry out its first experiments on an open network in France from Wednesday to Friday, the manufacturer Alstom and the Center-Val de Loire region announced during a presentation of the model in Loches (Indre-et-Loire). The experiment financed with 300,000 euros by the region aims to set the first milestones for a future certification in France of this model, already in commercial service since September 2018 in Germany.
“In our daily lines, we have to replace our diesel (trains). We are in talks with Alstom. (…) We can think about buying them in the five-year horizon,” said the president of the region, François Bonneau. , from the Loches station, where the train was presented. This train is “adapted to small lines” and “will allow a new development of the territory”, which will no longer necessarily take place around large cities, he added.
Various regions interested
Four other regions (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est and Occitanie) have already ordered the first French hydrogen trains currently under development, which will be heavier and dual-mode hydrogen/electric. The Central region is interested in the simpler and lighter version, only hydrogen, of which some twenty copies are already in operation in Germany.
Unveiled at Touraine in electric blue livery, the Coradia iLint is powered by electric traction provided by a hydrogen fuel cell. Specially designed for use on non-electrified lines, such as the Tours-Loches line on which the three days of testing will take place, the train has a capacity for 120 passengers. “We believe in this technology, we believe it is the future of clean mobility,” said Jean-Baptiste Eyméoud, CEO of Alstom France, recalling that 50% of the French network is not electrified.
According to Alstom, around 1,200 diesel trains are currently running in France and they will need to be replaced between 2028 and 2038. Keep this thread in mind when you replace your diesel trains,” explained Olivier Delecroix, the manufacturer’s sales director for France. Alstom expects to see these hydrogen trains running in France “within four or five years.”
Source: BFM TV
