The Anonymous Widower

US Hydrogen Train Contract Awarded

The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.

This is the introductory paragraph.

Southern California’s San Bernardino County Transportation Authority has awarded Stadler a contract to supply a Flirt H2 hydrogen fuel cell powered multiple-unit to enter passenger service in 2024, with an option for a further four units.

The train follows the layout of Greater Anglia’s Class 755 train, with a power-pack in the middle.

The project was originally called the Redlands Passenger Rail Project, but it has now been renamed Arrow.

Stadler’s press release gives the following details.

• Two cars and a central power-pack.
• 108 seats and standing spaces.
• Operating speed of 79 mph.
• Entry into passenger service in 2024.

It looks to me, that Stadler are not being over-ambitious with their offering to the Californians.

But imagine replacing the diesel power-pack of a Class 755 train on the Felixstowe and Sudbury branches with a hydrogen power-pack!

Conclusion

Stadler could have designed the ideal train for branch lines!

Consider London Bridge and Uckfield.

• The train could use third-rail electrification on the 21 miles between London Bridge and Hurst Green.
• The train would use hydrogen on the 25 miles between Hurst Green and Uckfield

The train would need an appropriate sized hydrogen tank.

Could the required hydrogen tank, fuel cells, batteries and gubbins be fitted in a power-pack in the middle, which would not need any diesel engines.

This picture shows a visualisation of an Alstom Breeze train based on a Class 321 train.

The hydrogen tank, fuel cells, batteries and gubbins are in the blocked off area at the right end of the train.

• As cars on a Class 321 train are twenty metres long, I estimate that the hydrogen section is about eight metres long.
• Stadler’s power-packs are 6.69 metres long.

Efficient design should mean that a hydrogen engine with a range of several hundred miles could be installed in a Stadler Firt H2.

Stadler’s unusual design with the power-pack or engine in the middle is looking good.

November 14, 2019 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | California, Hydrogen-Powered Trains, Stadler Flirt H2