Germany's first hydrogen train, built in France and being tested there, is practically noiseless and has zero emissions.
The passenger train which will carry 300 passengers at nearly 90 miles per hour up to 500 miles on one tank of gas was unveiled at the Berlin InnoTrans trade show this week, said Travel + Leisure magazine.
The French company Alstom built the Coradia iLint, which gets its energy from combining hydrogen stored on the train with oxygen in the air. The energy it creates is then stored in lithium-ion batteries.
Alstom hopes to start transporting passengers in Germany by late 2017 or early 2018, said the magazine's news site.
"Alstom is proud to launch a breakthrough innovation in the field of clean transportation which will complete its Coradia range of regional trains," said Alstom chairman and chief executive Henri Poupart-Lafarge, according to The Local. "It shows our ability to work in close collaboration with our customers and develop a train in only two years."
Alstom has said the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway have all asked about the hydrogen train.
According to The Local, "hydrail" technology has been used for freight trains in the past. The East Japan Railway Co. first tested a hydrail railcar in 2006 and a hydrail tram was introduced in China last year, but the Alstrom train will be the first passenger train to regularly travel long distances.
Alstom, which also operates in North America, announced last month that it signed a contract with Amtrak to design and build 28 new high-speed trains that will run on the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington D.C.
Alstom will give Amtrak long-term technical support and supply spare components and parts for the new trains in an agreement totaling $2 billion.
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