Alstom, in partnership with the Government of Quebec, Chemin de fer Charlevoix, Train de Charlevoix, Harnois Énergies and HTEC, will start a Coradia iLint passenger demonstration during summer.
The Coradia iLint will carry passengers on the Réseau Charlevoix rail network, along the St. Lawrence River, between Parc de la Chute-Montmorency and Baie-St-Paul. The train will be powered by green hydrogen produced by Harnois Énergies at its Quebec City site.
“Quebec is positioning itself as a centre of expertise in sustainable transport on the continent. Promising innovations such as Alstom’s will not only help us achieve our ambitious climate change targets, but they will also be able to be exported elsewhere in the world,” François Legault, Premier of Quebec said.
The province of Quebec will be the first jurisdiction in the Americas run a train with zero direct emissions powered by green hydrogen. The Coradia iLint passenger demonstration with passengers on board will allow Alstom and its partners to better assess the subsequent steps for the development of hydrogen propulsion technology and its penetration into the North American market.
“We are pleased to leverage our infrastructure for this exciting project. This initiative is not only a perfect fit with our corporate social responsibility plan, which includes a sustainable mobility component, but it also generates significant reach for the Charlevoix region, which is at the heart of our organizational vision”, Claude Choquette, President of Groupe Le Massif and of Chemin de fer de Charlevoix said.
Alstom’s hydrogen train entered commercial service in Germany in 2018 and has travelled more than 220,000 kilometres in 8 European countries. The train is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell that emits only water vapour 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 1,175 kilometres without refuelling. 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. Coradia iLint stands out for its combination of innovative features such as clean energy conversion, flexible energy storage in batteries, smart traction and energy management. Designed especially for non-electrified lines, it allows for safe, clean and sustainable operations. To date, 41 trainsets have been ordered by clients in Europe.
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