Alstom eyes Liverpool hydrogen train trials

Alstom wants to test its hydrogen powered trains in the UK and is in talks about running a trial in the Liverpool area.

The DfT’s recent scaling back of rail electrification plans means that there will be greater demand for non-electric trains, including alternatives to diesel.

Alstom UK managing director for trains and modernisation Mike Hulme said: “We’re working with Liverpool city region to establish a source of hydrogen from the refineries in the Ellesmere Port area and we believe that the Liverpool area would be a good test case.”

Hulme suggested Liverpool-Chester services as a suitable trial for the hydrogen train. Network Rail’s Halton Curve project is currently under way to restore a section of track near Frodsham in Cheshire, making possible a new hourly service between Liverpool and Chester from December next year. Alstom’s new Widnes technology centre is nearby, and north-west England has an established rail engineering skills base, he said.

He added: “There has been dialogue with Liverpool city region and various Roscos about how we can develop a demonstrator. It is an option which we’re pushing quite heavily, and we seem to be getting some traction.”

Register now to continue reading

Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of news stories. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our news coverage, as well as premium content including opinion, in-depth features and special reports.  

Benefits of registering

  • In-depth insights and coverage of key emerging trends

  • Unrestricted access to special reports throughout the year

  • Daily technology news delivered straight to your inbox