Fuel cell power considered for Melbourne to Geelong rail link

As an alternative to a monorail, or conventional train travel to solve Melbourne's east-west traffic woes, researchers researchers from the Appalachian State University in the U.S. have suggested using hydrogen power for a more environmentally friendly commute.

Stan Thompson, chairman of North Carolina's Hydrogen Economy Advancement Team,  said; "Monorail is faster, quieter and infinitely more impressive,  but hydrogen rail runs on existing ordinary tracks with no modification and so orders of magnitude are less costly.''

The technology is in operation in Japan, Canada and Taiwan. The East Japan Railway Company rolled out the world's first commercial hydrogen train, replacing the carriage's diesel generator with a fuel cell. The US military is also developing its own hydrogen train to use for yard-switching in urban areas with controls on air pollution.

Source: Fuel Cell Today