“Fairy tales”: In the Zillertal, a quarrel about the costs is blocking the procurement of hydrogen trains from Stadler
The Tyrolean Zillertalbahn wants to replace its diesel trains with emission-free new vehicles. But with what drive? For some time now, Deutsche Bahn has wanted to buy hydrogen trains from the eastern Swiss rail vehicle manufacturer Stadler. However, a report by a consulting firm commissioned by the state government sees cost advantages with electric trains under an overhead line.
A Zillertalbahn diesel train on its way to Mayrhofen.
By the year 2050, the federal state of Tyrol wants to become energy-autonomous. This also includes the will of the Zillertalbahn to be the first narrow-gauge railway in the world to switch from diesel to hydrogen trains. The Deutsche Bahn Supervisory Board made this decision at the end of 2017, and as early as May 2018 the intention was announced to initially order five hydrogen trains from Stadler, a rail vehicle manufacturer in eastern Switzerland.