FNM orders first hydrogen trains for Italy

FNM has placed an order for six hydrogen fuel cell trains from Alstom, a move that brings hydrogen train technology to Italy.

FNM
Coradia Stream for FNM ( © Alstom / Design & Styling)

The €160m order from FNM (Ferrovie Nord Milano) includes options for eight more trains, with first deliveries expected within the next three years.

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The new hydrogen trains will be based on Alstom’s Coradia Stream regional train platform and will be equipped with the same fuel cell propulsion technology that was introduced by the Coradia iLint.

“We are immensely proud to be introducing hydrogen train technology to Italy, and we recognise the trust placed in us by our Italian customer,” said Gian Luca Erbacci, senior vice president of Alstom Europe. “These trains, together with the Coradia iLint that have already proven themselves in commercial service in Germany, represent another major step in the transition towards global sustainable transport systems.”

The Coradia iLint is the world’s first passenger train powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, which produces electrical power for traction. According to Alstom, the platform ‘combines clean energy conversion, flexible energy storage in batteries, and smart management of traction power and available energy.’

The Coradia Stream trains for FNM will be manufactured by Alstom in Italy. Project development, most of the manufacturing and certification will take place at Alstom’s site in Savigliano. Design and manufacturing of the traction systems and other components will take place at Sesto San Giovanni, with on-board signalling systems delivered by the company’s Bologna site.

This latest announcement by Alstom follows Austrian ÖBB’s decision to introduce the Coradia iLint onto the Austrian rail network. Its Austrian debut follows almost two years of testing in Lower Saxony, Germany, where it covered more than 180,000 kilometres.