China’s CRRC, the world’s largest railway transport manufacturer, introduced its first hydrogen-powered passenger train. This four-car train was the fastest of its kind in the world. It can travel at speeds up to 160 km/h which is 20 km/h more than its German counterpart, Alstom.
Germans were much more involved in hydrogen trains than the Chinese. There are currently 14 Coradia iLint 4 cars hydrogen-powered trains in Germany. Other EU countries placed orders for many similar formulations. The development was successful. The hydrogen-powered train emits pure water throughout the route.
It is important to understand that infrastructure plays an important role in the development and operation of hydrogen transport. China leads the world in this area. Information Trends analysts claim that there are less than 1,000 hydrogen filling stations around the world, with a third of them being deployed in China. China is expected to lead the way in hydrogen-powered transport routes if this pace continues.
The reserve is where the Chinese development is superior to the German. The Alstom train can travel up to 1,000km on one station while the CRRC train is limited to 600km. The CRRC train also has many other advantages, including 5G connectivity, being able to move autonomously, return to the depot independently, wake up, and start making stops.