GRA
Well-known member
^^^Yup, on short routes in areas where adding electric infrastructure isn't too expensive. Works fine in some places, not in others (like long routes in the U.S. The cost of maintaining the electric power lines through the Rockies and Cascades, especially in winter, was one of the reasons the CMSTP&P abandoned what was the longest electrified route in the U.S. (over 650 miles, and opted for diesel). The same article you quoted goes on to say
This does not mean that hydrogen trains have no future in Germany or anywhere else.
In fact, the Cuxhaven to Buxtehude line in northwest Germany will become the world’s first 100% hydrogen railway when all its 15 diesel passenger trains are replaced by H2-powered models made by Alstom by the end of this year.
A hydrogen refuelling station has already been installed halfway along the 79km route — initially supplied by H2 produced locally as a by-product of chlor-alkali electrolysis at the nearby Dow chemical plant. But there are question marks over how green the hydrogen will be — as the electrolysis is powered by grid electricity, rather than renewables.
But there are plans to switch the supply to green hydrogen in the coming years.