Metrolink riders in San Bernardino County will soon be able to make their daily trips using cutting-edge technology: the first zero-emission, hydrogen-powered hybrid train in the U.S. has arrived in San Bernardino, with an aim to start passenger service later this year.
The train will run on Metrolink's Arrow line, which links San Bernardino and Redlands, and will come with a host of bragging rights. The train, also known as FLIRT H2, broke a Guinness World Record this year for the longest distance traveled by a train of its type on a single charge.
Due to its use of hydrogen power and a hybrid battery, the only emissions from the train will be water vapor. If you forget that fact, you'll probably remember it once you take the train, which is covered in a blue-and-white water droplet design.
A quiet place
The train, known as a zero-emission multiple unit or ZEMU, is also sized to fit on regular train tracks, as opposed to other similar environmentally-friendly models that run on narrower ones.
Currently, Metrolink's Arrow service runs diesel-powered trains that are already pretty quiet — but the new trains will reduce the noise even further, according to Tim Watkins, chief of Legislative and Public Affairs for the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority.
"When you're on the train, you can sit across from one another, either at a table or facing seats on the train and have a very quiet, pleasant, normal conversation uninterrupted by what typically we experience with train noise," Watkins said.
Fighting ongoing pollution
The trains were developed in conjunction with Swiss train manufacturer Stadler, which also supplied the diesel-powered trains being used on the Arrow lines. But Watkins said county officials didn't want to stop there.
"We live in San Bernardino County, right? It's one of the more challenged air quality attainment areas in the nation," Watkins said.
To that end, county officials decided to look into developing a totally new train design rather than going off of what had been done already.
"We started to do the research and we saw that there was an example being developed in Germany, a pilot of a hydrogen fuel cell type train similar to what we're doing here in San Bernardino County," Watkins said.
Coming later this year
Now the transit authority is focused on testing out the train to make sure it will run smoothly and opens to passenger service on time later this year — especially since customers who haven't ridden hydrogen-powered trains may have concerns over the fuel's storage.
"Everything is at its highest level and checked and rechecked, but we’ve also been coordinating with local first responders on how to respond to any things that relates to this train and its fueling system,” Watkins said.
And while the Arrow line only runs about 9 miles between San Bernardino and Redlands, the new train has the capacity to run a lot longer. Its world record-setting trial run lasted for 1,741 kilometers, meaning the train can run for more than two days without refueling on the Metrolink's Arrow service — and the idea is to get more trains and use them across the Metrolink system if the pilot goes well.
"We did not build it specifically just for the nine-mile corridor," Watkins said. "We're using the nine-mile corridor essentially as a pilot for the train, but its capacity to run is much greater than that."
And as transit agencies start to look for cleaner vehicle options — especially as California moves toward new emission standards for trains — Watkins hopes these trains can be used far beyond Southern California.
"The fact that it can run on existing infrastructure basically means this vehicle type, this clean option of a passenger rail train can be implemented anywhere in the country, which makes it even more exciting that San Bernardino County is being first in this endeavor," Watkins said.
