Official Site of the
International Hydrail Conference

Today we are used to two types of railway transport: either electric trains that take power that is generated elsewhere and brought to the train via a overhead catenary or a so-called “third rail” or diesel trains that covert the energy contained in the fuel in an often quite large diesel engine and bring it to the wheels using different forms of transmission. The diesel dominates on a worldwide base because it enables autonomous operation with comparatively low investment: All you need is a track, signalling, fuel for the locomotive or DMU and off you go. But diesel power means carbon footprint, pollutant emissions from particulates to nitrogen oxides right where the train is running – often enough close to where people live.