Rail vehicle manufacturer Stadler Rail is testing the hydrogen-powered FLIRT H2 train between Hemishofen and Ramsen from December 2022 to May 2023. In addition to the self-driving bus of the Swiss Transit Lab, the hydrogen-powered train is a second deployment of mobility solutions of the future in Schaffhausen. 

Rail transport is the most sustainable mobility solution, due to its low energy consumption per passenger kilometer. In particular, electric propulsion is efficient and allows trains to operate without emissions. For routes where diesel trains are still in use today, Stadler has developed the FLIRT H2 train powered by hydrogen. It is being tested down to the last detail in the Schaffhausen region until its planned delivery to California in 2023.

A flirt with customer requirements

Railroad fanatics aside, the FLIRT H2 looks externally like any other FLIRT, the single-deck Stadler regional train. However, the customer's requirements were exciting and unusual: The vehicle should remain identical for the passenger, analogous to the diesel vehicles currently in use. The dimensions, relevant for the length of the platforms or the existing maintenance buildings, as well as the normal operation for locomotive drivers must also remain unchanged. What really concerned the Stadler engineers, however, were the seasonal outside temperatures of over 49 degrees. The requirement here is that the vehicle must be able to withstand the high temperatures and run for a whole day - without refueling. More than 440 people worked on this project. It took about three years to bring the hydrogen train to its current test status.

Area for Makers

In the canton of Schaffhausen, we are driving pioneering spirit. We are already thinking today about tomorrow's opportunity, and thus about the sustainable mobility of the future. From December to May 2023, the train will run on a test basis between Hemishofen and Ramsen: a 14.5 km test route with five stops and about 20 level crossings. Why in Schaffhausen? The track is close to Bussnang, the main site where the vehicle was developed. Various topics can thus be tested easily and directly by each department. Furthermore, the track is run outside regular operations. The team can work freely and undisturbed. And Schaffhausen is the place where other mobility applications of the future are already in use.