ALSTOM operated a demonstration journey using a Coradia iLint hydrogen train along a 90km line in Quebec on June 17, the first passenger service to be operated by a hydrogen-powered train in North America. The train will now operate commercially on the line for the summer season.
The trip was a joint effort between Alstom, the government of Quebec, Train de Charlevoix (CFC), Harnois Énergies, HTEC and Cummins subsidiary Accelera. The train operated using hydrogen fuel cell technology supplied by Accelera and was powered by green hydrogen produced by Harnois Énergies at its Quebec City site.
The Hydrogen Research Institute of the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières will support Alstom in analysing the demonstration project’s results.
The CFC line that the train operated on connects the city of Clermont in the Charlevoix region to a Canadian National (CN) freight yard in Quebec City’s La Cité-Limoilou borough. The single-track, non-electrified line runs along the St Lawrence and Malbaie rivers.
Alstom says entering the Coradia iLint into commercial service is the main goal of the company’s innovation centre in the Americas, which is located in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec.
