The provincial government has decided to pursue potentially groundbreaking clean train technology as part of its plans to electrify the GO Transit network, the Star has learned.

At an announcement Thursday morning, the province is set to officially launch the long-awaited study and public consultation process on electrifying GO lines under its regional express rail (RER) program.

The Ontario Liberals say the $13.5-billion RER expansion will introduce all-day, two-way GO service on the busiest parts of the GTHA’s regional rail network by 2025. The assessment of the program’s environmental impacts is part of the government-mandated transit project assessment process (TPAP) that must be complete before the expansion can go ahead.

In an exclusive interview with the Star on Wednesday, Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca confirmed that in conjunction with the electrification assessment, the province will also launch a feasibility study of hydrogen-powered passenger trains.

Passenger trains powered by hydrogen fuel cellshave yet to enter regular service anywhere in the world, but early models have reached advanced testing phases in Europe. Manufacturers say the trains are nearly silent, and produce no emissions besides steam and condensed water.

The feasibility study will help determine whether hydrogen trains might be a better option for the RER program than traditional electric vehicles.

“This is a decision that we’re making that will have to last for a generation and beyond, so we want to make sure that we’re at the leading edge of the technology,” said Del Duca.

“It could be traditional electrification, it could be electrification by hydrogen fuel cell. It could be a combination of both.”

Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency for the GTHA, will lead the feasibility study. The agency also plans to partner with the University of Toronto to host a symposium of what Del Duca describes as “global leaders on hydrogen fuel cell technology” in the fall.

The minister said there was “potentially a ton of upside” to the technology, including hydrogen-powered trains’ near-silent operation. Under RER, Metrolinx plans to quadruple the number of weekly trips on the GO network from roughly 1,500 to 6,000, and communities along the rail corridors have expressed concerns about the accompanying noise.

Del Duca said it’s possible hydrogen trains could also reduce costs because they may require less of the costly infrastructure investments normally associated with electrification. Unlike traditional electric trains they don’t draw power from overhead cables, but instead power their electric motors using fuel cells carried on board.

There is no firm timeline or budget for the feasibility study yet, but the assessment process for electrification is estimated to cost $5 million. Del Duca said if the study determined that hydrogen-powered trains are the better option, some aspects of the TPAP might have to be redone, but the RER program could still be complete by 2025.

Leading the charge to put hydrogen-powered trains into regular service is Alstom, a French company. In March, Alstom announced it had performed a successful test run of what it called the “first low-floor passenger train worldwide powered by a hydrogen fuel cell” at a test track in Germany.

The train successfully ran at a speed of 80 km/h. The hydrogen used to power it was an industrial byproduct, but the company says it intends to eventually support hydrogen production using wind energy.

Alstom says it already has letters of intent from a handful of German states to purchase 60 of the trains.

In an unrelated deal, last month Metrolinx announced a $528-million purchase of 61 vehicles from Alstom for potential use on the Finch West LRT and other GTHA light rail lines.

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Asked if Metrolinx’s relationship with the company influenced the decision to look into hydrogen trains, Del Duca said the province is “not wedded to any particular provider.”

The Liberals first announced details of the RER project in 2015. The government intends to electrify parts or all of the Lakeshore West, Lakeshore East, Kitchener, Barrie and Stouffville GO lines, as well as the Union Station corridor, largely replacing the existing diesel trains. Service would be increased to frequencies of every 15 minutes or better.

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