A year and a half ago there were the first public announcements about the purchase of hydrogen trains, and since then several steps have been taken, so we are close to launching the tender. In the article, you can read where electric trains can run, what their pros and cons are.

Several European countries have tested hydrogen trains, and since August 24, five Alstom hydrogen trains have been running on a line in Germany, near Hamburg, and by the end of the year there will be 14. They usually run at a speed of 80-90 km/h, but reach 120 km/h.

Cuxhaven to Buxtehude is 83 km and the train takes 71 minutes.

The project cost 93 million euros, and hydrogen trains are presented as an alternative to diesel ones. Europe already electrified main lines decades ago, but electrifying regional lines would be expensive as there are also mountainous sections, sometimes also tunnels or bridges, and electrification can cost more than 10 million euros/km.

Romania and hydrogen trains, a brief history of the pilot project

In March 2021, the then Minister of Transport, Katelin Drula, said that Romania wanted to test hydrogen trains because it was a new and promising technology. Then he also used a plastic expression to describe the distrust of a project that could be viable: “when an Oltean sees a giraffe.”

• The hydrogen train traveled 1,175 km without refueling

At the end of March 2022, the Authority for the Reform of Railways (ARF) is publishing a market consultation notice on the public procurement platform SEAP to prepare the purchase of rolling stock with non-repayable European funds, as well as hydrogen trains. At the time, ARF said it intended to organize procurement procedures for short- and long-distance hydrogen electric frames, targeting trains with a maximum capacity of 200 seats.

At the end of April, the Ministry of Transport approved the purchase of 12 hydrogen trains as part of a pilot project for testing some ecological trains. Among the serviced routes will be Bucharest – Otopeni Airport and Bucharest – Pitesti.

On July 20, the government approved a memorandum on the purchase of 12 cars with a hydrogen engine. The estimated value of the contract financed by the PNRR will be 862.23 million lei (including VAT).

The investment is combined with the purchase of hydrogen fuel and long-term maintenance and repair services, which will be provided from the date these trains are put into service.

Where are we now

The Railway Reform Authority says it has progressed with the procurement documentation and is about to launch the procedure at SICAP. Technical and economic indicators were also approved, and together with the Ministry of Economy, the creation of working groups was initiated to update the legislation and technical standards for the use of these trains. For example, pressure vessels must be authorized and future suppliers must build a charging station according to European legal parameters.

The tender procedure on the SICAP platform will be launched in October.

Those who support hydrogen trains in Romania say that they would be very suitable for a network like ours, where 60% of the lines are not electrified. Opponents say that’s the last thing we need, but the first thing to do would be to get rid of speed limits and electrify parts of main lines where only diesel trains run.

Where hydrogen trains could run

The new hydrogen trains will provide:

Trains run every 30 minutes between the North Railway Station and Otopeni Airport

Trains every 30 minutes between the North Station – Chitila – Sabareni and Titu

Trains run every hour between Bucharest – Gesti – Pitesti

Trains run hourly between Bucharest and Tirgoviste

4 trains per day between Bucharest – Slatina – Craiova via Pitesti.

Hydrogen trains – Interesting, but expensive

Hydrogen trains are presented as a “green” alternative to diesel trains and can be a solution on non-electrified lines. In addition, they have several times more autonomy than battery trains. Germany, Holland, Italy, Austria, Great Britain, Poland and Sweden are the European countries most interested in this technology.

Alstom, Stadler, CAF and Siemens are European companies that have developed hydrogen trains. Alstom has been most in touch with the iLint model, which has been tested in several European countries since 2018. The French also held negotiations with the Romanian authorities.

The disadvantages of hydrogen trains are related to the high cost, the fact that hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels and requires a lot of storage space. The construction of supply infrastructure is also needed, and hydrogen is not suitable for high-speed trains, but for those that develop a maximum of 120-140 km/h.

Hydrogen is not free, but already combined with something else; to separate the hydrogen we need energy. Only after we have expended energy and obtained free hydrogen can we burn it.

The problem is that, due to the inevitable inefficiencies of hydrogen burning processes, less energy is produced than is spent on separating it from its compounds.

The emission level of the “RE-H” train depends on the method of hydrogen production, and this leads to other difficulties, since currently most hydrogen (over 90%) is produced from fossil fuels, in particular by steam reforming of methane. (steam methane reforming, SMR) and coal gasification.

Hydrogen train technology refers to trains equipped with hydrogen fuel cells that generate electricity.

The primary energy source is hydrogen, and the idea is that oxygen taken from the air combines with hydrogen inside the fuel cell to produce the electricity needed to run the train.

The traction battery is used for intermediate storage of braking energy, for acceleration and for auxiliary power.

The infrastructure of hydrogen filling stations is needed, and this is difficult and expensive, so it is an obstacle.