Forbes is amazed by the unique train that Spain produces and which will dominate in the future

Spain is about to revolutionize rail transport. Talgo, a Spanish train manufacturer that was courted unsuccessfully by a Hungarian group. Magyar carriagesurprised the world with development first high speed hydrogen trainan innovation that has caught the industry’s attention because it can represent a “before” and “after” in design railway networks and it even amazed the magazine Forbes .

The use of hydrogen technology in trains is not entirely new, but Until now it has only been used in commuter trains or. But Talgo’s move to apply it to high-speed trains marks a major milestone that experts say could change the way rail lines are planned around the world.

The biggest challenge for hydrogen-powered trains has always been the ability to store enough fuel on board to enable long, high-speed trips. Until now, conventional solutions such as overhead electrification cables (OHCs) carrying catenary systems have been the norm. However, building and maintaining these systems is expensive and complex. Overhead cable electrification, invented in Russia in the 19th century, has proven its reliability, but has important limitations.

“High-speed hydrogen trains seemed like a distant goal due to the technical difficulties of storing enough fuel on board,” he explains to the magazine. Forbes Stan Thompson, co-founder Mooresville Hydraulics Initiative. “With Talgo, this hurdle seems to have been overcome faster than we expected,” he notes.

Revolutionary hydrogen train Talgo This eliminates the need to install expensive and visually invasive overhead cables on railway sites. According to Thompson, electrifying just 900 meters of track using a traditional OHC system costs the same as building a hydrogen refueling station that can supply an entire railway line. Additionally, the cost of maintaining cables is high, making hydrogen a better option in the long term.

The Talgo hydrogen train represents not only technological progress, but also a clear commitment to a more sustainable future. At a time when the need to reduce carbon emissions is a priority, innovations like these open the door to a new era of rail transport. Countries with low population densities such as the US or Canada, where long distances and sparse electrified infrastructure make it difficult to develop high-speed train networks, could benefit from this technology.