Sweden's new biogas train will run 80 kilometres between Linkoeping and Vaestervik and seat 54 passengers in its single carriage.
Two Volvo gas engines have replaced the previous diesel motors and the train contains eleven biogas canisters that store enough fuel to run for 600km before refuelling, with a top speed of 130kmph.
Biogas is made from shredded plant matter and animal waste mixed with water, the energy-providing gas extracted from the decomposing material.
Sweden already has 779 buses powered by biogas and around 4500 cars powered by biogas or a petrol/gas hybrid system, and the train is another milestone on the road towards Sweden’s ambitious target of having 3% of its vehicles using renewable energy fuels by the end of 2005.
The production cost of biogas is significantly higher than standard diesel. The new train, due to be in service by September, has cost Svensk Biogas 10 million kronor ($A1.7 million) to develop, but the local availability of biogas should go a long way towards minimising its running costs.
The new Peruvian train, which currently rides the world’s highest railway line at 4900m above sea level in the Andes, has been switched from conventional diesel to run on two General Electric CNG-powered engines.
“With this technological development, Peru is taking a big step forward in terms of its energy independence,” said Juan de Dios Olaechea, president of railway company Ferrocarril Central Andino.
Ferrocarril said it intends converting all eight of its trains to run on CNG in the next seven months, providing a boon to the environment and allowing them to take advantage of Peru’s recent opening of the giant Camisea gas field in its southern jungles.
