Swiss Firm Tests First Narrow-Gauge Hydrogen Train

Stadler Rail has built what it calls the world’s first narrow-gauge hydrogen-powered train. It’s now running trials on a dedicated Swiss test track before heading to Sardinia. The company, based in Bussnang in canton Thurgau, is testing rolling stock for 21 vehicles destined for Italian regional networks over the next three years.

The test track runs between Hemishofen and Ramsen stations in the canton of Schaffhausen. Built in the spring, the line stretches almost 4 kilometres and uses a third rail laid within an existing standard-gauge route. It’s a modest piece of infrastructure, but it solves a practical problem: how to certify and commission trains for a gauge that barely exists in Switzerland.

The Industrial Case

Regional transport in parts of southern Italy runs on tracks with a gauge of 950 millimetres, the company said in a press release. The gauge serves routes in Puglia, Sicily, the Naples area and Sardinia. Stadler built the test track specifically for rolling stock intended for those networks.

The idea grew out of earlier work. Stadler tested the FLIRT H2 hydrogen-powered train built for California on the standard-gauge line, and that project’s success prompted the extension. A European manufacturer is adapting technology proven for an American customer to serve a niche European market. That’s the kind of export-led, customer-driven engineering the continent’s industrial base depends on.

Stadler will now test systems on rolling stock built for the Sardinian Regional Transport Company (ARST). Over the coming three years, the Schaffhausen track is expected to play a key role in commissioning the hydrogen-powered fleet Stadler is building for Sardinia, Calabria and Sicily. Tests are scheduled for 21 vehicles in total.

What the Customer Says

Carlo Poledrini, ARST’s director-general, called the imminent delivery “a decisive step” for the railway company, according to the press release. “The trains arriving in Sardinia will have already completed a major phase of testing, enabling us to swiftly begin final trials on our network,” he said. He added that this “will allow us to make concrete progress towards zero-emission transport and greater energy self-sufficiency.”

Poledrini called it “a significant operational milestone that confirms our excellent collaboration with Stadler Rail.” He’s valuing tested equipment that arrives ready for final trials, so the operator isn’t left debugging unproven technology on its own tracks.

The Company Behind It

Stadler traces its origins to the engineering firm Ernst Stadler founded in Zurich in 1942, 84 years ago. The company now manufactures rolling stock ranging from high-speed and regional trains to trams and metro vehicles, which also operate on railway lines in Switzerland and Ticino. It employs 18,000 people, including 6,000 in Switzerland. In 2025, Stadler recorded turnover of CHF3.7 billion ($4.48 billion).

Markets have noticed. Stadler Rail’s share price had risen 44% since the start of January and 57% over the previous twelve months.

The base material doesn’t say what the hydrogen fleet will cost, who’s paying for it, or how the hydrogen will be produced and supplied. Regional operators and their funders will eventually have to answer those questions.

Why This Matters:

This story shows European industry doing what it does best: solving a specific engineering problem for a paying customer, without waiting for a grand programme from Brussels. A Swiss firm outside the EU is supplying zero-emission trains to Italian regions, and the investor response suggests confidence in that model. For policymakers, the lesson is about competitiveness. Decarbonisation works when it’s anchored in commercial demand and proven technology, not mandates alone. The facts available leave unanswered the long-term cost of hydrogen operation to regional taxpayers, a question national and regional governments, not European institutions, will ultimately have to weigh against cheaper alternatives.