Another reason in favor of the railway — its environmental friendliness. Trains emit 1 percent of global transport emissions, while air travel — about 2.5.
The air transport industry promises to be carbon neutral by 2050. Many railway companies around the world have joined the call of the United Nations and are working to make big changes now.
Slowly, railway operators are moving away from diesel and going electrified. Australia, India, the UK, the USA and other countries have begun generating electricity from renewable sources using solar and wind energy.
Germany went the other way and launched the first all-hydrogen passenger trains. They started running last week on the regional line in Lower Saxony.
The hydrogen-powered Coradia iLint trains are built by French international company Alstom and are powered by hydrogen fuel cells that generate electricity. energy.
Winner of the 2022 Germain Sustainability Design Award, Coradia iLint is emission-free. Alstom claims that the trains emit only water vapor and condensate. And the heat generated is used for air conditioning.
14 Alstom's latest hydrogen-powered trains will replace 15 diesel trains on this route during the year. Five trains have already started running.
Without refueling, the hydrogen-powered Coradia iLint can travel 1,000 kilometers. A kilogram of hydrogen replaces about 4.5 liters of diesel fuel. Refueling will take place daily at the Linde hydrogen filling station built along the route.
Hydrogen-powered trains are capable of traveling at speeds of 145 kilometers per hour and will cruise at 80 to 120 km/h on the same route. h.
Alstom has won a second German contract for the supply of 27 Coradia iLint trains in Frankfurt. Another six locomotives running on environmentally friendly hydrogen, the company is building for use in Italian Lombardy and twelve — for sharing in four different regions of France.