€190m Order To Bring Hydrogen Trains To Regions In France
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on H2 View.
This is the introductory paragraph.
What is believed to be the first order of dual mode electric-hydrogen trains has been made today (8th April) for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est and Occitanie regions of France.
I very much hope that Alstom’s Class 600 trains for the UK are dual mode, as that surely is the best design option.
The Anonymous Widower 
Hi
H2 technology is changing, the tanks are becoming radically lighter and cheaper. H2 cars typically have a 350 mile range, and refuel in 5 minutes. So refuelling during a station stop is a viable option. It will be more efficient if the Class 600 trains are not dual fuel, dual fuel is an expensive, and heavy option.
Comment by John Robin St.Clair | April 9, 2021 |
Alstom’s press release is at https://www.alstom.com/press-releases-news/2021/4/first-order-hydrogen-trains-france-historic-step-towards-sustainable. Not much in the way of technical details, but they seem to be saying the trains have the same performance as the existing Polyvalents.
Comment by Peter Robins | April 9, 2021 |
dual mode is the ability to use electrification and hydrogen. BR-era trains are generally dual mode in that they can be converted to use either 25KVAC overhead or 750 VDC third rail electrification, which both feed a 750 VDC electrical bus through the train. I suspect the hydrogen fuel-cell will connect into this bus.
Comment by AnonW | April 9, 2021 |
They should have the same performance, if you put in enough fuel cells.
Comment by AnonW | April 9, 2021 |