Bombardier Transportation (now part of Alstom) introduced a variety of green innovations to reduce CO2 emissions and pollution in the railway sector. One of our first sustainable mobility solutions was a dual-mode Autorail à Grande Capacité (AGC) train, designed and developed by its Crespin site in France; the AGC was... Read more →

Ricardo plc and AFC Energy plc, a leading provider of hydrogen power generation technologies, signed a collaboration agreement on the joint creation of hydrogen fuel cell product and service offerings, with an initial focus on marine, rail and stationary power generation. The collaboration will develop products and services that will... Read more →

The German Center for Rail Transport Research at the Federal Railway Office has tasked TÜV Rheinland InterTraffic with developing a standard for hydrogen applications in rail vehicles. TÜV Rheinland is one of the world’s leading testing and certification service providers, and has more than 21,400 employees and an annual turnover... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems announced a purchase order from Arcola Energy, a UK-based leader in hydrogen and fuel cell integration specializing in zero-emission solutions for heavy-duty vehicles and transport applications, for Ballard FCmove-HD fuel cell modules to power a passenger train planned for demonstration during COP26, to be hosted by Glasgow... Read more →

Fuel Cell Enabling Technologies, Inc. (FCET), a start-up energy technology company that has developed a novel, low-cost solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system, announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NextGenPropulsion, LLC (NGP) indicating NGP’s intent to purchase FCET fuel cells for NGP light-rail trains and freight locomotives. In addition... Read more →

BNSF Railway Company and Wabtec began testing battery-electric locomotive technology in revenue service between Barstow and Stockton, California. As BNSF seeks ways to further reduce its environmental impact, the advancement of battery technology offers some possible solutions. The battery-powered locomotive (FLXdrive) will be situated in a consist between two Tier... Read more →

Scottish Enterprise, Transport Scotland and the Hydrogen Accelerator, based at the University of St Andrews, have appointed Arcola Energy and a consortium of industry leaders in hydrogen fuel cell integration, rail engineering and functional safety to deliver Scotland’s first hydrogen powered train. A key objective of the project is to... Read more →

Canadian Pacific plans to develop North America’s first hydrogen-powered line-haul locomotive. CP’s Hydrogen Locomotive Program will retrofit a line-haul locomotive with hydrogen fuel cells and battery technology to drive the locomotive’s electric traction motors. Line-haul locomotives move freight and passenger cars between yards and terminals. These are high-powered units—total rated... Read more →

Alstom will supply six hydrogen fuel cell trains, with the option for eight more, to FNM (Ferrovie Nord Milano), the main transport and mobility group in the Italian region of Lombardy, for a total amount of approximately €160 million. The first train delivery is expected within 36 months of the... Read more →

Cummins Inc. will open a new facility in Herten, Germany, which will initially focus on the assembly of fuel cell systems for global transportation leader Alstom’s hydrogen trains. With capacity of 10 megawatts per year, the Herten facility will manufacture one megawatt of fuel cell systems a month for Alstom’s... Read more →

Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company, developed a new battery-powered switcher locomotive to be available globally, working in collaboration with its South American customer, Vale—one of the largest mining companies in the world. The new EMD Joule switcher includes battery capacity being delivered to Vale of 1.9 megawatt hours; this could... Read more →

Representatives from the State of Hesse, RMV (Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund), Alstom and Infraserv broke ground for a hydrogen filling station on the site of the Höchst industrial park in Frankfurt that will supply a fleet of 27 passenger fuel cell trains—currently, the world’s largest such. (from left): Dr. Joachim Kreysing, Managing Director... Read more →

Siemens Energy and Siemens Mobility have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) jointly to develop and offer hydrogen systems for trains. The project aims at jointly developing holistic hydrogen solutions for rail transport and offering them to customers to promote the hydrogen economy in Germany and Europe and support decarbonization... Read more →

East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Hitachi, Ltd., and Toyota Motor Corporation have entered into an agreement to collaborate on development of test railway vehicles equipped with hybrid systems that use hydrogen powered fuel cells and storage batteries as their source of electricity. The partners will combine their railway and... Read more →

Nearly half—48%—of rail tank cars carrying Class 3 flammable liquids in 2019 in the US met the new safety requirements, up from 33% in 2018, according to Fleet Composition of Rail Tank Cars Carrying Flammable Liquids: 2020 Report released today by the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.... Read more →

OptiFuel Systems, a system integrator of Cummins and BAE Systems hybrid power products for decarbonizing the rail, marine, and microgrid power market, is in the process of finalizing a $2.6 million US Department of Energy (DOE) grant to demonstrate a pre-production Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) hybrid 4,300 hp line-haul locomotive.... Read more →

Alstom and Snam, one of the world’s leading energy infrastructure companies, have signed a five-year agreement to develop hydrogen trains in Italy. The partners, after the conclusion of the first phase dedicated to feasibility studies planned in Autumn, aim to develop, already at the beginning of 2021, railway mobility projects... Read more →

Clayton Equipment, the only British independent locomotive manufacturer in the UK capable of designing and manufacturing locomotives up to 150 tonnes, has agreed a contract with Beacon Rail Leasing for the supply of 15 Hybrid CBD90 shunting locomotives along with options for a period of three years. The exclusive agreement... Read more →

After 530 days and more than 180,000 driven kilometers, the successful trial operation of the world’s first two hydrogen trains was officially completed at the end of February. Two pre-series trains of Alstom’s Coradia iLint model have been in passenger service since September 2018. (Earlier post.) From 2022, 14 Coradia... Read more →

Alstom will manufacture, deliver and maintain until 2032 eleven Coradia Continental battery-electric trains for regional traffic on the Leipzig-Chemnitz route on behalf of VMS (Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen) and with the support of ZVNL (Zweckverband für den Nahverkehrsraum Leipzig), the two authorities responsible for this line. The contract is worth approximately €100... Read more →

AKASOL will supply battery systems for more than 40 Coradia iLint hydrogen trains (earlier post), which have been ordered from Alstom by the Lower Saxony Transit Authority and the Rhine/Main Regional Transport Association. With this major order in the low double-digit million euro range, AKASOL is expanding its operations in... Read more →

Stadler and San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) have signed the first contract to supply a hydrogen-powered train to run in the United States. SBCTA awarded the contract with an option to order four more vehicles in the future. The FLIRT H2 train is planned for passenger service in 2024.... Read more →

Alstom and the Province of Groningen, local operator Arriva, the Dutch railway infrastructure manager ProRail and the energy company Engie have signed plans for a pilot project to test the Coradia iLint, a passenger train powered by hydrogen fuel cells (earlier post), for the first time in the Netherlands. The... Read more →

The state of California will make available $450 million in grants to help fund rail and bus investments made by public agencies under the California Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP). Procurement of electric buses, charging systems, and associated electric bus infrastructure are eligible projects under this program, as... Read more →

Intermodal cargo continues its powerful rise at the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), achieving 10.5% growth in July. Over the past three years, the Port of Savannah has grown its rail volume by 35.4%, completing more than 507,000 intermodal lifts in the fiscal year that ended in June. The Port of... Read more →

Porterbrook and the University of Birmingham’s Center for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) announced that the UK’s first hydrogen train—HydroFLEX (earlier post)— will be tested on the mainline railway following a successful proof-of-concept. The mainline testing of HydroFLEX marks an important step in the development of a zero-carbon emission propulsion... Read more →

Kiel-Toshiba Railway Europe GmbH (TRG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba Infrastructure Systems and Solution (TISS), Toshiba Group’s core group in the infrastructure business, will showcase Toshiba’s modular diesel electric hybrid locomotives at Transport Logistic 2019 this week. Furthermore, TRG will showcase its Toshiba HDB 800 locomotive demonstrator in pantograph... Read more →

In his State of the Stateaddress, California Governor Gavin Newsom called for the state to abandon the state’s full high speed rail (HSR) project, which would run from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and ultimately from Sacramento to San Diego. Instead, Newsom wants to commit just to the more feasible... Read more →

Alstom and Eversholt Rail have unveiled the design of a new hydrogen train for the UK market. The train, codenamed Breeze, will be a conversion of existing Class 321 trains, reengineering some of the UK’s most reliable rolling stock. These trains could run across the UK as early as 2022.... Read more →

Rio Tinto has successfully deployed AutoHaul, establishing the world’s largest robot and first automated heavy-haul, long distance rail network. (Earlier post.) The average return distance of these trains is about 800 kilometers with the average journey cycle, including loading and dumping, taking about 40 hours. Since completing the first loaded... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems has received a purchase order from Porterbrook Leasing Company Limited, a leading participant in the rail leasing market, for an FCveloCity-HD fuel cell module and related support to power a HydroFLEX train in the UK. Earlier this year, UK Rail Minister Jo Johnson MP challenged the rail... Read more →

Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland, Alstom, Nahverkehrsservice Sachsen-Anhalt GmbH (NASA) and Rolls-Royce plan to implement jointly a new hybrid drive solution on Abellio’s fleet of Coradia Lint diesel trains. The four companies agreed to conduct technical feasibility studies regarding the integration of hybrid drives developed by MTU (earlier post), a Rolls-Royce brand,... Read more →

Rolls-Royce and Alpha Trains intend to jointly retrofit Alpha Train’s Talent, Desiro and Lint fleets with MTU hybrid drives. The two companies signed a letter of intent to this effect at Innotrans, the world’s leading trade fair for transport technology, in Berlin. The aim is to retrofit the entire Alpha... Read more →

At InnoTrans 2018, the International Trade Fair for Transport Technology, MAN Engines is exhibiting the D3876 LE63x for locomotives, which produces 471 kW (632 hp) at 1,800 rpm. One of its outstanding features is the in-line six, which meets the EU Stage V emission standard for locomotives without the need... Read more →

Alstom held a world premiere event on Sunday celebrating its Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel cell train (earlier post) rolling into service in Lower Saxony, Germany. From today onwards, two such trains will enter commercial service according to a fixed timetable. Travellers in the Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser (EVB) network can... Read more →

Bombardier Transportation has introduced a new battery-operated train: the BOMBARDIER TALENT 3 train. The new battery-operated train is the first of its kind to enter passenger operation in Europe in more than 60 years. It does not generate any exhaust and sets the standards for smart mobility with peak values... Read more →

Alstom’s Coradia iLint (earlier post), the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell passenger train, has been granted approval by the German Railway Office (EBA) for passenger service in Germany. Coradia iLint is based on the service-proven diesel train Coradia Lint 54. Replacing the diesel traction with fuel cell technology enables sustainable... Read more →

UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove published a new Clean Air Strategy to cut air pollution backed up through new primary legislation. The UK said it will go further and faster than the EU in reducing human exposure to particulate matter pollution. These proposals are in addition to the government’s £3.5-billion... Read more →

Ontario is taking the next steps in exploring the potential of Hydrail (hydrogen-powered rail technology) as an alternative to conventional electric trains. Kathryn McGarry, Minister of Transportation, released the province’s detailed Hydrogen Rail (Hydrail) Feasibility Study, which found that it would be feasible to build and operate electrified rail service... Read more →

Alstom will build 14 Coradia iLint fuel-cell trains (earlier post) for the Local Transport Authority of Lower Saxony (Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen, LNVG). The trains, which will convey travellers between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervörde and Buxtehude from December 2021, will replace the diesel multiple units of the transport authority Elbe-Weser-Verkehrsbetriebe (evb) and will... Read more →

With the sharp and largely unexpected increase in the long-distance movement of domestically produced crude oil, ethanol, and natural gas since 2005, a number of concerns have arisen about the safe transport of these hazardous materials, particularly in relation to railroad track defects, rural communities’ emergency response preparedness, and the... Read more →

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh have found that the air pollution and greenhouse gas costs of shipping crude by rail are nearly twice as large as those for oil pipelines. Further, their estimates of air pollution and greenhouse gas costs are much larger than estimates... Read more →

Siemens and Alstom signed a Memorandum of Understanding to combine Siemens’ mobility business including its rail traction drives business, with Alstom. The two businesses are largely complementary in terms of activities and geographies. Siemens will receive newly issued shares in the combined company representing 50 percent of Alstom’s share capital... Read more →

The Canadian province of Ontario is electrifying its GO rail network to transform how people move around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), and is seeking design concepts for hydrogen-powered trains as an alternative to conventional overhead wires. A division of Metrolinx, GO Transit is the regional public transit... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) reached settlements with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) and Union Pacific Railroad Company (UPRR) to resolve violations of the state’s drayage truck regulation, which requires cleanup of trucks servicing the state’s busy ports and intermodal rail yards. An investigation by CARB’s Enforcement... Read more →

Transport researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) have developed an innovative, holistic concept for the next-generation transport of cargo by rail—NGT CARGO. The concept aims to make European rail freight more appealing and hence increase its market share. It is distinguished by a... Read more →

In an effort to accelerate the movement to zero- or near-zero emission locomotives, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) has petitioned the US EPA take action to adopt more stringent emission standards for locomotives. These new standards are to include standards for newly manufactured locomotives (which ARB refers to as... Read more →

Alstom successfully performed the first test run at 80 km/h (50 mph) of the fuel cell passenger train Coradia iLint (earlier post) on its own test track in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony (Germany). An extensive test campaign will be conducted in Germany and Czech Republic in the coming months before the... Read more →

Diesel-powered commuter trains may expose their passengers to elevated levels of certain black carbon and ultrafine particles, especially in the coach directly behind the locomotive, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Toronto. A paper on the study is published in the journal Atmospheric Environment. Professor... Read more →

The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) signed a multi-year strategic partnership agreement with seven Korean research institutes—KICT (Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology); KOTI (Korea Transport Institute); KIMM (Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials); KERI (Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute); ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute);... Read more →