Railway company MÁV-Start has launched market research for the procurement of hydrogen-powered multiple units. The aim is to find out what the vehicle market is currently capable of.
The practical application of the hydrogen fuel cell trains is still very new, all manufacturers are in the pilot phase. The market study is therefore public and any manufacturer can apply, but MÁV-Start has also sent out a separate call to the 15 potential companies in the sector.
The hydrogen fuel cell multiple unit could be one of the solutions for emission-free passenger transport on non-electrified, primarily regional railway lines. MÁV-Start is considering a framework contract for 18 vehicles, of which it could buy six initially, followed by orders for at least three at a time. The maximum speed can be 140km/h or 160km/h, the number of seats 120, in some trains 180-200.
A decision on further steps will be taken after the market study is completed, by the end of 2022. The technology would be financed from the revenues of the European Union’s quota trading system under the Hungarian government’s Green Economy Financing Scheme.