A hydrogen fuel cell-powered passenger train from rail vehicle manufacturer Stadler Rail has set a new Guinness World Record by running continuously for nearly two days over 2,803 km. The Swiss train surpassed its previous record of running 2,736 km on hydrogen fuel cells.
Stadler first introduced the Flirt H2 passenger train version at the 2022 InnoTrans event in Berlin and began testing in Switzerland. The train is designed to replace diesel trains on rail networks that cannot be electrified or are only partially electrified. The vehicle uses two motorized tractors with a hydrogen tank and fuel cell placed in the middle, feeding energy into the onboard battery pack to power the electric motor.
The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority originally built the San Bernardino for its California network, which has a top speed of 127 km/h and a range of 460 km per fuel stop. However, during testing at the ENSCO test track in Pueblo, Colorado, it broke that range specification and set a new world record for the longest distance covered by a hydrogen-powered passenger train without refueling or recharging. On March 20th, Flirt H2 started its first run on the track, with engineers taking turns controlling it for over 46 hours until it reached 2,803 km/h on a single tank of hydrogen.
According to Ansgar Brockmeyer of Stadler, this new record sets an ideal range for the hydrogen version of Flirt H2. Additionally, Stadler revealed that two Italian railway operators have signed contracts with them to supply 15 hydrogen-powered trains. The efforts to replace fossil fuel trains are ongoing as countries invest heavily in electrifying rail networks around the world and deploying battery-powered trains such as FLXDrive, Blues, and Flirt Akku.
