Siemens presentation offers opportunity to compare hydrogen, battery-powered trains

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The hydrogen and battery trains are both based on the company’s Mireo commuter/regional rail electric multiple-unit trainset sold mainly in Germany. The alternative-fuel equipment was previously displayed at the InnoTrans trade fair in Berlin last September [see “Siemens optimistic about U.S. passenger market,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 24, 2022]. However, the opportunity to ride on both at the same event, and compare the way the trains work and perform, was new. No other manufacturer has offered such a comparative experience, although Stadler and Alstom, the other two major European train builders, now have examples of both types of train.

Electric trains, with added energy sources
Perhaps not surprisingly, as large lithium-titanium-oxide batteries carried under the passenger cars are at the heart of both trains’ traction systems, their acceleration and noise levels were much like any other modern commuter EMU. Riding the hydrogen train, Siemens project engineers pointed out a faint high-pitched sound from the roof when the fuel cells, supplied by Canadian firm Ballard, were recharging the batteries. Had this not been pointed out, most riders would not even have noticed it.

The battery/EMU train, on the other hand, was just like the straight EMU versions already widely in service. Siemens says it has ensured the battery and hydrogen versions of the Mireo perform just like the pure EMU version in terms of acceleration, braking, and maximum speed of 100 mph. The hydrogen train only emits water vapor as it operates; thanks to a clever design, waste heat generated by the fuel cell is reused to power the air conditioning.

Where the trains differ from regular EMUs is their flexibility to go away from electrified routes. The hydrogen-powered train will have a range of up to 625 miles before refuelling and the battery one around 75 miles before recharging. Siemens — as you might expect from a company that literally helped invent electrical engineering in the 19th century — is up front in saying the best way to power a train is from continuous electrification. But the company admits this only makes economic sense for some rail lines in many countries.
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