Russia: The press-service for the energy forum Sakhalin Oil and Gas, which opened on 2 October, was cited as saying. As part of the forum, TMH is to show the train’s mock-up, which was unveiled for the first time at the Eastern Economic Forum in September.
The press-service says that two trainsets will be launched in 2027 and three more in 2028. The same deadlines were previously mentioned in Russian Railways’ annual report. “The average daily mileage of hydrogen trains will be about 305 km, and the estimated hydrogen fuel consumption is going to be about 350 t per year”, say the forum’s organisers.
Later, TMH revealed some details of the HEMU project:
1️⃣ The train is designed to operate in two- or three-car trainsets and in multiple.
2️⃣ In both cases, a tender with power units and energy storage will be used, a similar approach to Stadler.
3️⃣ Hydrogen and batteries will provide ranges of 487 km and 40 km for a three-car train and 725 km and 80 km for a two-car train.
4️⃣ Certification is scheduled for 2026.
5️⃣ R&D activities are funded by a RUB 400 mln ($4.2 mln) subsidy from the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.
A total of ten routes in Sakhalin, which are currently served by diesel-powered trainsets, will receive hydrogen vehicles. A hydrogen refuelling station is to be built at the Russian Railway facility in the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, where hydrogen will be produced using electrolysis.
In summer, TMH’s CEO Kirill Lipa said that a hydrogen train prototype would be developed in 2025. It is a part of the Russian Energy Strategy, which was approved by the Government in 2020. The first Russian hydrogen shunting locomotive is also currently under development.
