During the night between 15 and 16 September, dynamic acceptance testing of the hydrogen-powered trains will begin along the Brescia–Iseo–Edolo railway line as part of the H2iseO project. This activity is предусмотрed for under the Framework Agreement signed by FNM and Alstom and is aimed at verifying the operation of the onboard equipment and systems on each train.
Over the coming weeks, this new testing phase will involve the first 7 trains already manufactured by Alstom (the eighth will be available by the end of the year and the remaining 6 in 2028). Each train will be required to cover at least 300 km along the line. The first train will undergo an additional 2,000 km testing cycle. The test runs, involving the cooperation of all the parties concerned – FNM, FERROVIENORD, FNM Power, Trenord, Alstom and Maintrains – will take place at night, during scheduled railway service interruptions, and will therefore not interfere with normal train operations. Testing will be carried out along the sections between Brescia and Iseo and between Bornato and Rovato.
Once the dynamic acceptance testing programme has been completed, the trial operation phase will begin, during which the trains will undertake a further series of journeys along the line. These tests, required as part of the train authorisation process, will simulate all operating scenarios in preparation for the launch of commercial services in 2027.
This new milestone in the H2iseO project – promoted by FNM, FERROVIENORD and Trenord, with the support of the Lombardy Region – follows the issue by ANSFISA, as part of the same authorisation process, of the Authorisation for Placing into Service (AMIS) for the operation of the new trains, granted in June. Also in June, construction work on the hydrogen production and distribution facilities in Iseo and Edolo, built by FERROVIENORD, was completed, enabling the FNM Group to meet the targets required to obtain PNRR funding for the project through the Lombardy Region.
“The launch of this testing phase brings us closer to our goal of introducing new trains capable of significantly reducing emissions, in the name of technological innovation, sustainability and development,” comments FNM President Andrea Gibelli. “Thanks to the support provided by the Lombardy Region, which has always believed in this project alongside us, H2iseO confirms itself as a concrete industrial and environmental initiative, created to decarbonise a non-electrified railway line and capable of becoming a model that can be replicated nationwide.”
“Thanks to the commitment and professionalism of everyone in the FNM Group and the contribution of our technical and institutional partners, particularly the Lombardy Region, we are getting ever closer to our goal of transforming the mobility system in Valcamonica and the province of Brescia,” states FNM Board Member Fulvio Caradonna. “In a few months, the first hydrogen-powered trains will be ready to begin commercial operations.”
“The introduction of the new trains on our railway line represents a unique opportunity to provide the local area with new environmentally friendly trains,” emphasises FERROVIENORD President Pier Antonio Rossetti. “The choice of hydrogen was not made as a symbolic gesture, but as a technological solution tailored to a specific context, in which decarbonisation must take account of the actual characteristics of the infrastructure, the terrain and the service.”
H2iseO PROJECT OVERVIEW – Promoted by FNM, FERROVIENORD and Trenord, with the support of the Lombardy Region, the H2iseO project aims to develop a hydrogen-based economic and industrial supply chain in Valcamonica, starting with the mobility sector, initiate the area’s energy transition and contribute to the decarbonisation of a significant share of local public transport. The H2iseO project involves the introduction of 14 new Coradia Stream H™ hydrogen-powered trains, manufactured by Alstom in Italy, to replace the entire diesel fleet currently operating on the line; the construction of hydrogen production and distribution facilities; technical and infrastructure upgrades to the stations concerned; and the construction of a depot and maintenance facility for hydrogen-powered trains. H2iseO was developed in response to a specific need: the gradual replacement of a diesel fleet operating on a non-electrified railway line, avoiding solutions that would have required extensive construction work, prolonged disruption to services and significant impacts on the local area.
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