On June 17, 100 passengers boarded the Coradia iLint for the first hydrogen train journey ever on the North American continent. The train connected the Parc de la Chute-Montmorency in Quebec City to Baie-Saint-Paul, a 90km trip in the heart of the UNESCO-listed Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve along the St Lawrence River.
The Coradia iLint, which generates its own energy using fuel cells supplied by Accelera by Cummins, which has operations in Ontario, is powered by green hydrogen produced by Harnois Énergies at its Quebec City site. Other project partners in the demonstration project include the Government of Quebec, Chemin de fer Charlevoix, Train de Charlevoix, and HTEC.
The province of Quebec will be the first jurisdiction to run a train with zero direct emissions powered by green hydrogen, demonstrating its leadership in the transition to a low-carbon economy and the set-up of ecosystems dedicated to hydrogen.
The commercial operation of this train will allow Alstom and its partners to better assess the subsequent steps for the development of an ecosystem for hydrogen propulsion technology and its penetration into the North American market. The Hydrogen Research Institute of the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières will accompany Alstom in the analysis of the results of this demonstration project.
The Coradia iLint first entered commercial service in Germany in 2018 and has travelled more than 220,000km in eight European countries. Currently, Coradia iLint is operating in commercial service on two different networks in Germany. The train is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell that emits only water vapor during operation, while ensuring a quieter environment for passengers and those close to tracks.
On September 15, 2022, the Coradia iLint travelled the record distance of 1,175km without refueling. Coradia iLint has a top speed of 140 km/h and acceleration and a braking performance comparable to a standard regional diesel train – but without the noise and the emissions.
To date, 41 Coradia iLint trainsets have been ordered by clients in Europe.
“We are very proud to see our Coradia iLint hydrogen train onboard and carry its first North American passengers here in Quebec,” said Michael Keroullé, president of Alstom Americas. “Alstom is fully involved in the decarbonization of mobility in the world and particularly in America. Hydrogen technology offers an alternative to diesel and demonstrates our ability to provide more sustainable mobility solutions to our customers, agencies, and operators, as well as passengers. It will also provide an extraordinary showcase for Quebec’s green hydrogen ecosystem, which is under development.”
Commercial service of the Coradia iLint in Quebec is the first mandate of Alstom’s innovation center in the Americas, which is dedicated to sustainable mobility solutions. This is the first milestone in the development of an ecosystem around Alstom’s rail solutions with zero direct emissions.
The primary mission of this center, located in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec, is the development of future platforms with hybrid, battery or green hydrogen propulsion specifically adapted to the North American market, leveraging the proximity to the more than 700 Alstom engineers currently working in the city to help accelerate the decarbonization of the rail sector.