Move comes amid reports engineering firms have secured a deal that could see low emission hydrogen trains on UK tracks within two years
Alstom and Eversholt Rail have today unveiled the design for a new hydrogen train for the UK market, amid reports the firms are close to announcing a deal that would see the low emission trains running on UK tracks within two years.
The train, dubbed the 'Breeze', will entail the conversion of existing Class 321 passenger trains so they can run on hydrogen, thereby emitting only water and vapour rather than CO2 or harmful diesel emissions.
The resulting hydrogen train would fit with the standard UK loading gauge, the companies said.
Engineering company Alstom has partnered with UK train firm Eversholt Rail to develop the Hydrogen Multiple Unit trains, and the two are working with industry stakeholders to draw up the business case for introduction of zero emission fleets and associated hydrogen refuelling infrastructure in the UK.
The two companies have said the hydrogen trains could be running across the UK by 2022, but reports in The Times today indicate they may have already secured a deal with a UK rail franchise that could see the first of 100 Breeze trains on UK tracks within the next two years.
A complex franchise system for operating rail routes in the UK means companies known as roscos - such as Eversholt Rail - own the trains, and then bid for contracts to lease their trains with franchise firms which operate the rail routes.
A spokesman for Alstom declined to comment on whether a deal was close to being secured, but the company is understood to be hopeful it will have additonal news on its hydrogen plans "relatively soon".
Alstom's facility in Widnes is set to manage the conversion of the Breeze trains, amid growing interest in the technology across Europe.
Alstom managing director for UK and Ireland Nick Crossfield described the Breeze as a "clean new train for the UK with a stylish, modern look" that would be an "ideal solution" for helping to reduce the UK's heavy reliance on diesel-powered rolling stock.
"Hydrogen trains offer an ideal solution for routes which are unlikely to benefit from electrification, and our innovative engineering solution means they can now fit within the UK loading gauge and can quickly be ready to roll on Britain's railways," he said.
Alstom launched its first, similarly designed hydrogen trains in Germany in September last year, where there are now two running between various stops in Lower Saxony as part of a partnership with the local government to replace part of the existing diesel fleet.
With a range of 1,000km and able to run for the whole day and charge up overnight, they are each equipped with on-board fuel cells to turn hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, emitting only water vapour in the process. Alstom is set to deliver 14 more hydrogen trains and refuelling depot in Lower Saxony by 2021.
In the UK, meanwhile, less than half of the UK rail network is electrified, with the lion's share of trains running on diesel.
The government has set out an ambition to eliminate diesel powered trains from the network by 2040 and having ditched plans to electrify a number of sections of the network over cost concerns hydrogen and battery technologies are thought to be critical to ensuring the 2040 target is met.
However, the government's recent Rail Sector Deal made no mention of either electrification nor hydrogen trains, sparking fresh questions about the Department for Transport's commitment to decarbonising the rail sector.
But Rail Minister Andrew Jones MP welcomed today's launch of the new hydrogen train design. "Hydrogen train technology is an exciting innovation which has the potential to transform our railway, making journeys cleaner and greener by cutting CO2 emissions even further," he said. "We are working with industry to establish how hydrogen trains can play an important part in the future, delivering better services on rural and inter-urban routes."