>>1182621My guess is that it depends on the country. First, let's assume that a hydrogen train is easier to maintain because you don't have to deal with the diesel engines, their lubrication, gearboxes, their lubrication, transmission systems and whatnot.
Next, we have to look at costs, and I would be willing to guess that hydrogen fuel is cheaper to run on, simply because its production is going to be made through cheaper electricity than more expensive diesel.
The expense of diesel is the next point to look at here. If this was the UK, the iLINT would not be used, as tax exempt fuel can be used in diesel trains. Diesel that's not for use in road going vehicles is exempt from fuel duty and is also exempt from VAT (which is why diesel laundering is a serious crime in the UK).
In Germany, only buses get special diesel for tax reduced diesel. Trains and generators still pay the highest levels of fuel duty and VAT, which means that diesel is incredibly expensive to run on German railways. One of the reasons the ICE-TD is being scrapped is because it's so expensive to run on diesel. Indeed, it's cheaper to electrify remote branch lines than it is to run diesel trains on them, unless the electrification would be complex.
At the end of the day, diesel has its uses, but fuel costs can make the costs of running a diesel train far too high.
