Canada: McGuinty looking to hydrogen-fuelled GO trains

Discussions with Bombardier in early stages, prompting opponents to say announcement is too vague

THUNDER BAY – The Ontario government is talking to Bombardier Transportation about funding the development of one of the world’s first hydrogen-powered trains, Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty said yesterday.

The discussions, both Bombardier and the government said, are in the early stages, with any actual vehicle several years away.
But the project could see the government commit research money – no one would say how much – as well as promise to buy the finished products to run on its Toronto-area GO Transit system.

Most trains in the world use either greenhouse-gas-emitting diesel engines or electricity, which is cleaner but is still often generated using greenhouse-gas-producing coal plants.

A train that uses a hydrogen fuel cell to combine hydrogen with oxygen to create the electricity needed to run its motor would essentially be a zero-emissions vehicle, producing only water vapour, proponents say.

The trains might run on hydrogen produced by Ontario’s nuclear plants.

Still, the technology remains unproven and much more expensive than conventional locomotives. However, private consortia and governments in the United States, Europe and elsewhere are looking into hydrogen trains, and a pilot project is on the rails in Japan.

The Globe and Mail (Canada)