Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR), in partnership with Alstom, a global leader in smart and sustainable mobility, will operate and demonstrate the world’s first passenger hydrogen-powered train, the Coradia iLint in Riyadh in the month of October.

This ground-breaking demonstration marks the first-ever introduction of a hydrogen-powered train in the Middle East and Africa. The collaboration between SAR and Alstom signifies a strong focus by the Kingdom to identify and test innovative sustainable mobility solutions to reduce carbon emissions from transport and meet Vision 2030 targets set by the Kingdom’s leadership.

The planned demonstration follows the memorandum of understanding signed by SAR and Alstom in September 2022 to develop or adapt hydrogen solutions for the needs of the Kingdom. Alstom’s Coradia iLint, a hydrogen-powered passenger train will embark on a first-of-its-kind journey in the Kingdom, travelling 10 to 20 kilometres on Riyadh’s East Network’s Line 1 or Line 2.

The Coradia iLint is the world’s first passenger train powered by hydrogen fuel cells that generate electrical energy for propulsion. Last year, the train travelled 1,175 km without refuelling its hydrogen tanks. This first zero direct CO2 emission train is quiet and emits only water during operation, and features several innovations: clean energy conversion, flexible energy storage and smart management of the traction power and available energy. Alstom has developed hydrogen traction solutions across multiple platforms and has signed several contracts for hydrogen fuel cell-powered trains. The first two fleets started commercial passenger service in Germany last year.