The Dutch railway infrastructure manager ProRail, Arriva, Alstom and Engie signed an agreement for a pilot project to test the Coradia iLint on the Netherlands network during the first quarter of 2020.
The tests will be carried out on the track between Groningen and Leeuwarden at up to 140 km/h and will last about two weeks. The objective is to demonstrate that hydrogen fuel cell technology is an appropriate way to achieve zero-emission rail traffic on non-electrified lines in the Netherlands where there are currently diesel trains running.
The Dutch railway network has approximatively 1,000 km of non-electrified lines.
“We look forward to demonstrating what has already been proven in Germany – that hydrogen represents a highly suitable way forward in both cases,” said Bernard Belvaux, Managing Director of Alstom Benelux.
The first two Coradia iLint trains have already been in regular passenger service in Lower Saxony in Germany since September 2018. The local transport authority LNVG will operate 14 Coradia iLint trains on that line from 2021. Also in Germany, a subsidiary of RMV ordered 27 Coradia iLint, the largest fleet of hydrogen trains in the world, which are expected to enter operation from 2022.
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