Hydrogen Train Built for Sardinia Enters Testing

Stadler Rail says it has built the world’s first narrow-gauge hydrogen-powered train. Testing is now under way in Switzerland, ahead of its use in Sardinia. The company expects a new test track in the canton of Schaffhausen to help commission a fleet for Sardinia, Calabria and Sicily over the next three years. Tests are scheduled for 21 vehicles.

The trains are being built for regional networks in southern Italy, where some lines use a gauge of 950 millimetres. The routes include those in Puglia, Sicily, the Naples area and Sardinia, according to Stadler. The company built the Schaffhausen test track for trains intended for those networks.

A test track for regional trains

The track runs between Hemishofen and Ramsen stations in the canton of Schaffhausen. Built in the spring, it stretches almost four kilometres and has a third rail within an existing standard-gauge track. Stadler is using the line to test systems on trains it built for the Sardinian Regional Transport Company, known as ARST.

The project came after tests of the FLIRT H2 hydrogen-powered train Stadler built for California. That train ran on a standard-gauge line. Stadler then expanded the test-track project to handle rolling stock designed for narrow-gauge routes in Italy.

The Schaffhausen track should play a key role in commissioning the hydrogen-powered fleet over the coming three years. Tests are meant to take place before the trains arrive in Sardinia, where they’ll undergo final trials on the regional network.

ARST links trains to energy self-sufficiency

“The imminent delivery of the new hydrogen-powered trains represents a decisive step for ARST,” Carlo Poledrini, the railway company’s director-general, said in a statement quoted in Stadler’s 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,” Poledrini said. “This will allow us to make concrete progress towards zero-emission transport and greater energy self-sufficiency.” He called the project “a significant operational milestone” and said it confirmed the company’s collaboration with Stadler Rail.

The project aims to provide zero-emission transport and greater energy self-sufficiency. The trains are intended for regional services in Sardinia, Calabria and Sicily. The base article gives no details about their routes, passenger capacity or hydrogen supply.

Stadler’s business and workforce

Stadler Rail began as an engineering firm founded by Ernst Stadler in Zurich in 1942. The company is now based in Bussnang in canton Thurgau, where it manufactures high-speed and regional trains, trams and metro vehicles. Its vehicles also operate on railway lines in Switzerland and Ticino.

Stadler employs 18,000 people, including 6,000 in Switzerland. It recorded turnover of CHF3.7 billion ($4.48 billion) in 2025. According to the article, Stadler Rail’s share price had risen 44% since the start of January and 57% over the previous twelve months.