• 07 Gen 2015

December 25, 2014. Spain has planned throughout 2015 the first pilot test of a natural gas powered train. Specifically, tests were conducted with a propelled liquefied natural gas (LNG) engine, a fuel increasingly used in transport thanks to both environmental and economic advantages. This action will be carried out by a consortium led by Institut Cerdà. Speaking with Gas Actual magazine, Manager of Land, Infrastructure and Mobility at Institut Cerdà, Marta Sánchez Borras, says the project is "under consideration and probably will start in 2015 when the motor and deposits specifications are defined." The place is yet to be decided, "although it is likely to be carried out on a stretch of about10 kilometers in length of the General Interest Railway Network of metric gauge, exclusively for freight trains and weak traffic," she says. The use of LNG in non-electrified lines of the Spanish rail network would be a considerable saving of fuel costs. Moreover, the use of LNG in transport would reduce emissions as natural gas engines emit 25% less CO2 and 95% less solid particles than diesel. LNG reduces emissions of greenhouse gases by 24% compared with vehicles powered by diesel or gasoline. Source: GNV Magazine