Check out photos of the world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger train that’s up and running in Germany as Europe tries to wean itself off of Russian oil

A visitor check out the engine of the Coradia iLint train, a CO2-emission-free regional train — AFP / John MACDOUGALL

Germany officially has the world’s first passenger rail line run entirely on hydrogen-powered trains.
The manufacturer says the trains are a “true alternative to diesel power” as Europe tries to wean itself off of Russian oil.
Check out photos of the world’s first hydrogen-powered train.

Germany officially has the world’s first passenger rail line run entirely on hydrogen-powered trains.

The trains, produced by French manufacturer Alstom, cost the German railway LVNG $92.3 million, according to CNN, and will run on a train line just outside Hamburg.

While the trains have been tested around Europe for 4 years, Germany is the first country to greenlight a passenger train line that runs entirely on hydrogen, without diesel-fueled trains as a backup.

Alstom says the emission-free trains represent “a true alternative to diesel power.”

The rollout comes as Germany and other European countries attempt to wean themselves off of Russian oil and gas imports – even resorting to turning off lights and heating – to comply with Europe’s sanctions as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Here are photos of the world’s first hydrogen-powered train.

The trains, called the Coradia iLint, which are powered by hydrogen fuel cells, were first introduced to the public in 2016.

Alstom's Coradia iLint train, the first in the world to be powered by hydrogen — Alstom’s Coradia iLint train, the first in the world to be powered by hydrogen

FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP

Here are passengers using the iLint train on the day it was officially greenlit in Germany for permanent use.

People sit inside a train powered entirely by hydrogen in Bremervoerde, on August 24, 2022. — People sit inside a train powered entirely by hydrogen on August 24, 2022.

CARMEN JASPERSEN/Getty Images

The trains can reach a maximum speed of 140 hm or 89 mph, according to the manufacturer, Alstom.

Interior of the hydrogen-powered train — Interior of the train

Alstom

The EPA says that hydrogen vehicles generate water and heat as by-products rather than regular vehicle exhaust emissions that contribute to pollution.