Alstom confirms order for its hydrogen-powered Coradia iLint

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The Coradia iLint at InnoTrans in 2016. Credit: Lesley Brown.
The Coradia iLint at InnoTrans in 2016. Credit: Lesley Brown.
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Rolling stock manufacturer Alstom and gas and engineering firm Linde Group have signed a contract for the delivery of 14 Coradia iLint trains to the Local Transport Authority of Lower Saxony (LNVG).

The hydrogen fuel cell-powered trains will be built in Salzgitter and will operate between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervörde and Buxtehude from December 2021.

These trains will use hydrogen supplied by Linde from the world’s first hydrogen filling station in Bremervörde, which will open thanks to an around €10 million investment from the federal government. The Coradia iLint trains can cover up to 1,000km with one full tank and travel at speeds of up to 140km/h.

The deal also covers 30 years of train maintenance at the depot in Bremervörde.


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LNVG will buy the trains but lease them to a railway operator. The first Coradia iLint is expected to be tested on the Elbe-Weser-Verkehrsbetriebe network in spring 2018.

These trains will replace diesel multiple units of the transport authority Elbe-Weser-Verkehrsbetriebe and will reduce the pollutant emission in daily service to zero.

Lower Saxony transport minister Olaf Lies said: “Hydrogen and fuel cells are an ideal combination for climate protection as well as for the energy and transport revolution.

“I am pleased that Alstom will build the trains in Lower Saxony, thus further strengthening their production site in Salzgitter.“

Alstom’s senior vice president for Europe Gian Luca Erbacci added that the contract represents a real breakthrough in rail transportation and a big step change towards a clean mobility system.

He said: “For the first time worldwide, a hydrogen-fuelled passenger regional train will replace diesel trains, generating zero emission with the same performance as a regular regional train and up to 1,000 km autonomy.

“We are grateful to the German federal government and to the regional government of Lower Saxony for their continuous support and confidence in Alstom’s strong innovation capabilities.”


Read more: What you need to know about Alstom’s hydrogen-powered Coradia iLint