Alstom has announced that their Coradia iLint train, the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell train, has completed three months of testing on ÖBB’s (Austrian Federal Railways) regional lines.

This comes after it received approval from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK).

The milestone makes Austria the second country in Europe to approve the Coradia iLint after Germany approved the emission-free alternative.

“We are immensely proud to confirm that the Coradia iLint has proven that it is suitable for all service routes – even on steep sections, its performance is convincing. Not to mention our pride in the fact that the train has now received official approval in Austria. I also congratulate OBB for being a pioneer in testing hydrogen technology on rail in Austria,” said Gian Luca Erbacci, Senior Vice President of Alstom Europe.

During three months of testing, the iLint was used on four demanding routes in Lower Austria, Vienna and eastern Styria.

The data collected from the testing will now be used to make any changes to the technology and perfect it further.