As part of a pilot project with Alstom, a green hydrogen train will operate between Quebec City and Charlevoix for the first time in North America starting next June. Prime Minister François Legault announced a $3 million government contribution.
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The project is valued at nearly $8 million in total. The French manufacturer, which acquired Bombardier Transportation two years ago, will conduct a three to four-month test phase, that is, during the summer tourist season.
With a capacity of 120 passengers, Alstom’s Coradia iLint series demonstration train, which will be imported from Europe in the spring, will be of the same type that has been in service in Germany since 2018 and, more recently, in France.
This ‘100% zero emissions’ train will replace one of the three diesel trains operated during the summer by Chemin de fer de Charlevoix, owned by Groupe Le Massif. It will operate Wednesday through Saturday between Quebec City and Baie-Saint-Paul starting June 17.
Its hydrogen supply is powered by the company Harnois Energies, which produces this green fuel in Quebec through the electrolysis of water.
“We think it is very promising and we must participate in this innovation that will continue to improve,” said Prime Minister François Legault, recalling that Caisse de depot et Placement du Québec is now Alstom’s largest shareholder.
strategic project
This is “good news for sustainable mobility in Quebec,” said Minister for Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon.
“I can’t wait to go to Charlevoix next summer,” said the minister, who hinted earlier this week that projects requiring the equivalent of 9,000 megawatts of electricity might not see the light of day in the next few years.
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“It’s not realistic: we don’t have electricity,” repeated Mr. Fitzgibbon. On the other hand, we will support certain strategic projects like Alstom’s. »
French giant Alstom, a world leader in the rail industry, is “the only company that can offer a proven train that’s tested and ready for production,” argued Mr Fitzgibbon.
Technological showcase
The Quebec-Baie-Saint-Paul pilot “will serve as a technology showcase for the North American market,” he said.
At the end of the trial period, the train is expected to be sent back to Europe as no other project has currently been identified to replicate the experience elsewhere in Quebec. Alstom Americas President Michael Keroullé acknowledged that this march was not designed for Quebec’s winter conditions.
But “the train is in high demand, it’s run in eight countries, it’s coming to America, there’s already a lot of requests south of the border, so we’re in talks,” floated Mr Keroullé.