Not only automakers are abandoning traditional fuel. So, in Germany, the world’s first Coradia iLint hydrogen trains are to enter the route in Bremerfurd (Lower Saxony). They will start running already on Wednesday.

Currently, 14 diesel trains are being transported there. Initially, five new ones will be replaced, and another 9 will finally replace the old ones by the end of the year. It is noted that 1 kilogram of hydrogen fuel can do the same as 4.5 kilograms of diesel.

The value of the agreement between the state-owned subsidiary Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen (LVNG) and Alstom, the builder of the Coradia iLint trains, is €93 million. It also involves the railway company Elbe-Weser (EVB) and the gas company Linde.

The trains have a maximum speed of 140 km/h (87 mph), and normal speeds on their route are 80-120 km/h (50-75 mph). The distance they can travel on a full tank is 1,000 km (621 miles), meaning that the trains will be able to run the given route all day. Also, it is already equipped with appropriate gas stations.

LVNG has been looking for alternatives to diesel trains since 2012, and already in 2018 agreed with Alstom on a two-year trial of Coradia iLint trains. They were also tested in Austria, Poland, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

Later in Germany, it will be possible to travel on such trains in Frankfurt. And among other European countries, there are orders in Italy and France.